Dissemination of the Truth of Cuba Continues

Did you read what Granma had to say about Castro's illness?

Did you read the official government response to allegations that Castro is "gravely" ill and has been unsuccessfully operated on at least three times?

No, of course not.

While all this was going on Cuban reporters were being taught how to be "up to the great transformations and needs of the Revolution. The people must see its problems reflected in our media with greater frequency."

Now, what event in the life of Juan Q. Cuban is more a problem than the health of the man who's every whim has been the law for 48 long years?

They can't report. They don't know anything. They're mushroom propagandists. They're kept in the dark and fed crap and rumor has it that there's a fresh supply of that in Havana these days and newspapers that are only good for wiping it off.

Hail the Humbugs

Today, The Miami Herald brings us a fantasy about Cuban “reporters.”

Even the title of the article is somewhat Orwellian:

Cuban seems to urge freer press

Cuban? Mark Cuban, the Owner of the Mavs? A Cuban dissident, perhaps?

No, the Cuban in question is “Cuba’s chief ideologue”, Rolando Alfonso Borges, who heads the “Ideology Department of the Communist Party's Central Committee”.

Borges(r)

Let’s try to get past that there’s actually an Ideology Department of the Communist Party's Central Committee.(I know it’s hard, but let’s)

What did the “chief ideologue” actually say?

He called for:

the ''dissemination of the truth of Cuba,''

Ahh! “The truth of Cuba”. Not the TRUTH, but The truth “of Cuba”, as defined by the “Truth Department of the Communist Party's Central Committee.”?

AND Mr. Chief Ideologue also called for greater access to the Internet.

Hmm?…In a country where owning a computer is a crime. OK.

BUT: (there’s always a but. It’s a Cuban thing, Butts are to Cubans ass… But, I digress….)

But he also classified journalism as ''a weapon against imperialist humbugs'' and said that the news media must act ''with and for the Revolution,'' a long-standing criterion that prevents state-controlled press from being too critical.

So…..Why should we care about this article?………..

Basically, the regime wants reporters to go out on the internet and try to block the tsunami of truth that is drowning their propaganda with bigger and better sandbags full of lies: “Truth of Cuba”.

Free Cubans have taken to the internet to dispel the lies and fallacious notions that Castro and his minions have spread into cyberspace. AND it has worked.

This meeting in Havana was a warning to Cuban “journalists”, (propagandists), that they are not doing a good enough job at lying and that they better get busy.

It is the second time in as many moths that the Cuban regime has admitted that it is losing the information war to the Free Cubans and the Worldwide New Media . And now, the World Mainstream press is starting to turn on them too. Late last year, Abel Prieto, Cuba’s Culture Minister, (no he’s not like the Cuban Miss Manners, he chooses what Cubans get to listen to on the radio station) admitted:

"It would be a delusion to think we could hide that torrent of information," he insists, referring to anti-Castro websites. "The only possibility is to beat them with a better concept of life."

Talk about Desperation and White Flags.

The Herald quotes its sister publication to the South, Granma:

In an article Sunday, the Communist Party daily Granma said that Cuba's journalists must be ``up to the great transformations and needs of the Revolution. The people must see its problems reflected in our media with greater frequency.''

''To this end,'' Granma added, ``we demand investigation, richness of language and creativity, with the concomitant professional and political responsibility.''

That means: Write about how screwed up everything is because of the Yankee Imperialist Embargo and the Miami Mafia.

Read the Article here. It also quotes real journalist “Hector Palicios who was released from jail last month. Talk about JOURNALISTS. He sets them straight.

Why you would quote anything coming form a country with an “Ideology Department of the Communist Party's Central Committee” who owns a newspaper that goes by “the Official Organ of Cuba’s Communist Party” is beyond me, but I guess you’ve got fill the newspaper up with something.

Mi verso al valiente agrada:

Mi verso, breve y sincero,

Es del vigor del acero

Con que se funde la espada

The Cuban Patient II

The news from Spain continues to flow downhill for Castro.

This morning we learned that Castro underwent 3 failed operations and as I surmised yesterday the "zipper" invented by Dr. Sabrido had to be used.

Castro's condition serious, Spanish newspaper reports

From the Boston Globe:

Castro, 80, suffered a serious infection that worsened to peritonitis, the newspaper said in today's editions. It cited two medical sources at the Madrid hospital where a surgeon who visited Castro in December works.

Castro's prognosis is "very serious" and he is being fed intravenously, the paper said.
Diverticulitis is the inflammation of pouch-like bulges in the intestinal wall. Peritonitis is an infection of the lining of the abdominal cavity.

A first operation to extract part of Castro's large intestine and reconnect the colon was a failure and the link broke, releasing feces into the abdomen that caused another peritonitis, the newspaper reported.

A second operation to clean and drain the infected area and perform a colostomy also failed, the paper said. Castro underwent a third operation to implant a Korean-made prosthesis, but it did not work and was replaced by one brought from Spain.

More Here

ABC News says he Tyrant is "Grave":

In a report published on its Web site, El Pais said: "A grave infection in the large intestine, at least three failed operations and various complications have left the Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, laid up with a very grave prognosis."

The recovery from the first operation, in which part of his large intestine was extracted and the colon was connected to the rectum, did not go well. The
link broke and he released feces into the abdomen that caused another peritonitis, the report said.

A second operation to clean and drain the infected area also failed, the paper said. He was then hit with inflammation of the bile duct, an illness which has a 80 percent mortality rate, el Pais said. A prosthesis made in South Korea was implanted and failed and later was replaced with one made in Spain.

El Pais said that in December, when Garcia Sabrido visited, Castro had an abdominal wound that was leaking more than a pint of fluids a day, causing "'a severe loss of nutrients." The Cuban leader was being fed intravenously, the report said.

The Cuban regime has bee to deny the news:

A Cuban diplomat in Madrid said the reports were lies and declined to comment. "It's another lie and we are not going to talk about it. If anyone has to talk about Castro's illness it's Havana," the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of official policy.

More Here
Today should be an interesting day in Havana

AND there's this bit of good news on Peritonitis from Voice Of America:

Peritonitis:

The condition is a painful and potentially fatal inflammation of the lining of the abdominal cavity often caused by infection in an organ.

The Cuban Patient

Thanks to Camilo over at Estancia Cubana we were able to find that El Pais in Spain is reporting that two sources at the same Hospital where the now infamous Spanish Doctor, Sabrido, works claim that what the Cuban Patient, Fidel Castro, had was diverticulitis. Diverticultis is an inflammation of abnormal pouches in the intestines.

What happened in his case is that they removed the intestinal piece with the inflamed, abnormal, pouches, not cancer. Then ,they reattached the colon to the rectum. Castro probably had an inflamed peritoneum which is a membrane that surrounds all abdominal organs.

When a patient with inflamed peritoneum has their colon reattached, there are likely to be complications, especially in the elderly.

In such cases, it is more prudent to make a temporary rectum to give the patient a chance to heal while they use a colostomy bag and then go back later and reattach the two disconnected parts of the colon.

Whether it was colon cancer or diverticulitis, the operative procedure would have been similar because in both cases a piece of the colon would be removed. So whether it was cancer or not THIS time, is inconsequential.

So far, a lot of the rumors about Fidel have been right on. One of those rumors was that Dr. Sabrido had been called in because the Cuban doctors were treating Castro for the wrong ailment. If it was his position that the colon should not have ben reattached in the intitial operation, then one could see how this rumor could start.

Given his know-it-all persona, one can also see Castro making the medical decision to have the colon reattached rather than opt for the colostomy bag to save his revolutionary ego from the humiliation of colostomy bag.

It is also important to point out that Sabrido pioneered a procedure in which a patient with an intestinal procedure is fitted with a “zipper” which doctors can open and close to clean any infections.

This would be helpful for a patient who is not responding with the more common way to attach tissues –stitches.

The Old Stitcheroo!

No, CastroI doesn't have Cancer, it's the old stitcheroo.

This from Reuters:

QUITO (Reuters) - Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has been having problems with the healing of his stitches after stomach surgery last July, a diplomat said on Monday.

"Fidel has problems with his stitches healing," the diplomat said.

Cuban officials in Havana were not immediately available to comment on the remarks. But Cuban authorities have been insistent they will not divulge details of Castro's illness.

The diplomat said Castro was taken to the operating theater seven times in a single day in December to deal with the problem of his stitches. He did not give details.

More

The Castro II regime is now using its diplomatic corps as well as relatives to divulge information about the "sate secret" health of the moribund tyrant.

New information here is that he was taken into the ER SEVEN times in one day. This seems to suggest that there is something wrong with his recuperative abilities. Once the body starts to loose the ability to heal itself to the point that you have to be stitched up repeatedly, the patient is in dire straights. Given Castro's age, not a great prognosis.

Don't forget that in Cuban culture, the patient's family is "prepared" for the bad news by the doctors. The regime seems to be "preparing" Cuban society for the sad news about papa Fidel's death.

A Foot in Mouth or A Foot in Grave?

From Dominican Today:

Cuba's ambassador to the Dominican Republic said on Dominican TV yesterday that the "irreplaceable" Fidel Castro ,

due to his condition and the fact that he’s 80 years old, it’s very
unlikely that Fidel Castro will return to that nation’s presidency.

Since back in late November the regime has been making cryptic statements that Castro I will not return to govern. The first such "admission" came from his niece, Mariela, who envisioned her uncle returning in a symbolic or advisory role; a tyrant emeritus, if you will.

The new party line, laid down by Castro II, seems to be that Fidel may be gone but his ideas will live on.



This is what the Cuban Ambassador, Juan Astiasarán Ceballo , had to say on the subject on the program D'Agenda on Channel 11:

"At the moment most of the provincial and municipal ministers and officials are young people who are not over 40 years of age and are the people in charge of giving continuity to this process headed by our commander Fidel Castro,"

More Here

Did the Ambassador open his mouth and put his foot in it?

If Astiasarán doesn't get recalled to Havana and jailed within the next few days, we 'll know that the new position is that Castro I is never coming back because his foot is securely inside the grave.

La Botellita

Daddy's All Right UPDATED

Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart (Fidelito )

(Pic Courtesy of De La Cova's Latin American Studies)

Mommy's alright,

Daddy's alright,

they just seem a little weird.

Surrender,

surrender,

but don't give yourself away,

ay, ay, ay.

--------

According to the AP, Fidelito was quoted as saying:

"He is recovering, I see him recovering,''

"He is in good spirits and optimistic.''

Castro Diaz-Balart, a nuclear scientist, was in Chile for the inauguration of a scientific research center. On Friday, he attended a dinner hosted by President Michelle Bachelet.

Article Here

-------

I was expecting something better this weekend from the regime.

The last time the US government said Castro wasn't long for this world , they dug up the Spanish doctor AND told us that endearing story about the phone call to the Chinese Ambassador.

I was so hoping for another video since I'm in need of a good laugh after the Giants' demise.

It's interesting that the Diaz-Balart name has resurfaced on the island. Castro supposedly forbade it after his ex-brother in law and ex-best friend, Rafael Diaz-Balart coined Castro's nickname: "El Loco Endemoniado"

Update:

Suspicious minds are wondering if Fidelito's trip to Chile has anything to do with the Castro clan relocating to an area in the South American Pampa straddling the Argentina/Chile border.

That theory has been explored in Spanish at Nuevo Accion.

Originally, the rumor was that Castro's current wife Dalia Soto Del Valle and her five Castro fathered sons were looking for property in that area through a family friend.

Supposedly, Del Valle is not fond of Fidel's first born who reportedly has never even been to Punto Cero.

Flake Fallout Over D.C.?

The assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean for the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, Adolfo Franco, announced that he’s leaving the agency to become Senator John McCain’s foreign policy advisor for his probable White House run.

Franco was in charge of the program that was audited by the GAO last year at the behest of congressmen William Delahunt and Jeff Flake. The two congressmen later lead a fact-finding mission to Havana where they met with some Cuban dignitaries, but were denied the request to meet with Raul Castro. They in turn, did not meet with Cuban dissidents, including the Ladies in White, who had asked to meet with the delegation.

Since the GOA audit, Cuban dissidents who depend on external funds to survive, claim that help from the US is “paralyzed” .

During a recent event in Havana on Three King’s Day, the Ladies in White said that funds from the event came from some Non Governmental Organizations in Europe.

Some excerpts from the Miami Herald Article:

In response to e-mailed questions, Franco said he was not pressured to resign and that USAID had done ``phenomenal work to further the dissident human rights movement in Cuba.'' He said after five years on the job it was time to move on. ``I believe I am among the longest serving senior political appointees in the Bush administration serving in the same position.''Franco said he will stay until President Bush taps a successor and the Senate approves the confirmation.

John Weaver, senior strategist for McCain's exploratory campaign, called Straight Talk America, hailed Franco, a Cuban American, as ''an outstanding public servant'' who ``understands the issues related to our hemisphere as well as anyone.''

Obviously, after the GOA audit, the USAID program to help the dissident movement in Cuba has been so discredited that it is as good as over.

Delahunt and Flake’s ultimate goal is to take down what is left of the economic sanctions against Cuba’s totalitarian regime.

Delahunt's work isn't done yet. Their next target is going to be the dismantling of Radio and TV Marti:

Delahunt said Congress plans to hold hearings in March on USAID's Cuba program and the operations of Radio and TV Martí.

Radio and TV Marti have made plans to broadcast to Cuba using the private sector recently.

Same 'Ol You Know What..........

Little change seen for Cuba even if Fidel Castro dies, UM panel says

"I'm not predicting that forever Cuba will remain the way it is, but for the short-term, the foreseeable future, one, two, three years ahead, I see significant repression, control of the population and very little openness," said Jaime Suchlicki, director of the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies.

Suchlicki made the remarks during a media briefing on Cuba's future at the university's Casa Bacardi, the institute's headquarters. Other University of Miami experts weighing in included Brian Latell, a Latin American and Caribbean specialist and author; Andy Gomez, whose research focuses on human values and attitudes in a post-Castro Cuba; Jorge Piñón, an energy expert, and Eric Driggs, the institute's humanitarian aid coordinator.

"He is a ruthless military leader that for 47 years has run Cuba next to his brother ? I don't anticipate Raúl becoming a reformer in his old age," Suchlicki said.

"He's going to lead collegially. He's going to share the stage," Latell said.

"I think reaching out to the United States is attractive to the majority of Cubans. I think it appeals to them, especially their aspirations of change," he (Latell)said.

Then there’s CUBANOPHOBIA:

Several panelists said one danger for Raúl Castro's government is a younger generation that does not have as strong a connection to the Cuban Revolution and the Castro brothers as their parents did.

Gomez said that if Raúl Castro does not maintain control after Fidel Castro's death, as many as a half-million Cubans could leave the island by sea and head for the United States or other Caribbean countries.

"This is the group that most likely will want to leave the imprisoned island if the opportunity rises," he said.

Read it ALL HERE

Human Rights Watch Denounces Political Repression In Cuba

Human Rights Watch has published a report on the state of human rights worldwide

Cuba’s Communist Government continues to stifle practically all type of political dissidence according to the worldwide report.

The report was released on Thursday in New York and it added that it is yet not clear if Fidel Castro’s absence will have any affects on the current human rights situation in Cuba. So far, it hasn’t with many dissidents and observers claiming that repression and anxiety over the political uncertainty has increased.

The report also says that in order to repress the opposition in Cuba the Cuban regime resorts to detentions, harassment, police “warnings”, house arrests, travel restrictions and firing from the government controlled jobs, (the government is Cuba’s sole employer), for political reasons.

According to Human Rights Watch, Cubans are systematically denied due process, freedoms of expression, association, and movement. The legal and intuitional structure of the Cuban government are geared towards oppression and serve as the root of all human rights violations on the island.

Raul in Charge

The US ' main concern about the situation in Cuba right now continues to be its stabitlity.


Clearly, in the short term, they would rather see a stable but enslaved island than the volatility that would come with a civil revolt that would likely send thousands of Cubans into the Florida straights.


They're sleeping better in Washington while we toss and turn and dream of a free Cuba and the Cubans on the Island continue their nightmare tonight:


Officials believe Raul Castro is in control of a relatively stable Cuba

Army Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, also said that Raul, who's been Cuba's defense minister since the early 1960s, enjoys "widespread respect and support among Cuban military leaders who will be crucial in a permanent government succession."

"In Cuba, Raul Castro is firmly in control as Cuba's acting president," Maples said, and will likely maintain power and stability after Fidel Castro dies, at least for the short-term."

Rest Here

Three for Three

OK.

Something's definitely up Lula's sleeve.

First Day. He offers to help in the eventual democratization of Cuba.

Next Day: A very negative editorial in O Mondo calling Venezuela the new Cuba.

Today: A Bush and Lula meeting announced.

Brazil, a developing economic powerhouse, is moving to become a player in Latin-American politics and the world stage.

Brazil's goal is to get a permanent seat in the UN's security council. That road goes to New York through Washington.

Venezuela, Cuba among topics to be discussed by Bush and Lula

Venezuela and Cuba would be included in the agenda to be discussed by US president George W. Bush and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva when they meet in Washington in the first half of 2007, Thursday announced a US official.


As quoted by AP, the Bush-Lula meeting date has not been set yet, but it would take place between April and June, said the official, who requested anonymity because the details of the trip have not been determined.

Washington is waiting to have more information about announcements made this week by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez regarding nationalization of key sectors such as energy, telecommunications and heavy oil crude processing.


"Lula has good relations with Chávez… we are obviously very interested in the regional stability," he added.

Brazil can prove to be an important US ally to counterbalance Venezuela in the OAS and the UN to press for the democratization of Cuba .

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil of Castro

Las Tres Monas Hipócritas

Resolver = Recycle

"Recycled" Plastic Liter Bottles

You see me and my stupid parents and all those people who left Cuba just had it all wrong.

Silly us.

All those shortages, and all that misery, and all the having to do without :

It was RECYCLING!!!!!!!

If had only known!

Here are some excerpts rationalizing the deplorable standard of living in Cuba from the Sun-Sentinel's Necessity -- and scarcity -- make Cubans masters of recycling :

Faced with chronic shortages, meager salaries and the United States' economic embargo, Cubans have mastered the art of recycling. The socialist government promotes the practice as a way to save the planet. But for most Cubans, it's more about saving themselves

Cuba's socialist government long has extolled the value of recycling. In 1961, Ernesto "Che" Guevara led a state company to recoup metals and other materials from waste. The objective: to save on imports, boost exports, expand industry and create jobs.

Cuba's cash-strapped government often touts recycling as environmentalism. A recent article in Communist Party newspaper Granma urged paper recycling to save
forests and stem the spread of garbage dumps. Another promoted the government's push to replace old, energy-guzzling appliances with new, mainly Chinese-made ones as a way to cut oil consumption.

Unlike European and U.S. cities, Cuba has few formal programs for recycling.

Well, they do have two very successful recycling programs in Cuba ommitted in the article.

Granma, the official government newspaper, is recycled as toilet paper becuase of toilet paper in Cuba is so scarce, it is considered a luxury.

They have also been very successful at recycling misery and oppression.

BUT, Yet, if you read the article , you'll find many interesting ways Cubans make due or "resuelven"

God, I hope that word, "resolver", fades from our people's vocabulary soon.

RIP

Everytime a Cuban dies these days I cant help to think that if they had just lived a little longer, they would have outlasted the tyrant

From The Jackson News Tribune:

HAVANA - Cuban dissident Manuel "Miguel" Valdes Tamayo, one of 75 activists jailed in a massive crackdown in 2003 and released a year later for health reasons, died Wednesday night, according to one of the island‘s leading activists. He was 50.

Valdes Tamayo had been in intensive care at a Havana hospital since Dec. 31. He was among dissidents rounded up in the spring of 2003 and sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to 28 years.

More on his death from Uncommon Sense

We Are Not Worthy

I sit and write these words from the comfort of a leather chair in an air conditioned room or a lawn chair by the pool, sipping beer, wine , soda, coffee or whatever I please, without a care in the world other than my a slow wireless broadband signal.

There are no repercussions or consequences about "ranting" about the events in an island 350 miles away save for a few caustic comments. No risks, only the rewards of patting myself on the back for doing something for the "cause".

Meet Carlos Otero:

He writes too. Only when he writes , there are consequences:

Read about Otero in this Miami New Times Article

Via BABALU

I'd like to think I'd do the same as Otero and stand up to the tyranny, but would I? Would I actually risk rotting in one of Castro's jails to defend my principles? Would I give up a life of comfort on my knees to stand up and risk it all?

I'm not sure I would be brave enough.

Next time you're down because of some adversity in your life, think of Carlos Otero. I know I will.

¡Otro Shock Brasile … ÑO!

Two Days , and Two Shockers from Brazil.

Today we have the O Globo criticizing Chavez’ collective plans for Venezuela by converting it into the New Cuba. The article reads as if it had been written by a made member of the Miami Mafia:

From: El Universal:

Chávez intends to create a new Cuba, say the Brazilian media

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is trying to turn his country into a "new Cuba" and this may weaken Mercosur democratic mindset, commented Wednesday major
Brazilian newspapers.

"Chávez heads at full speed for a totalitarian state," said O Globo concerning Chávez' decision to nationalize major companies during his new six-year term started Wednesday with the banner of the 21st Century Socialism, AFP reported.

"The president is increasingly willing to turn Venezuela into a new Cuba," O Globo added. Like other media, the newspaper criticized Chávez for reversing a broadcasting license to a dissenting TV channel and lashing out at Organization of American States (OAS)Secretary-General José María Insulza.

O Globo warned against the "risk that Chávez could make Mercosur to lose moral strength." Venezuela joined last year the trade bloc composed of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.

Yesterday, I highlighted how the new Brazilian Ambassador to the US volunteered Brazil to “ possibly play a role in the search for a transition to democracy that could be more calm and without possible turbulence”.

Now this shocker.

The new Latin American Left in Chile and Brazil have been quick to distance themselves from the XXI century socialism conjured up in the fascist minds of Castro and Chavez, apparently choosing investments and free markets over nationalization and planned economies as ways to improve the lives of their citizens.

The likes of Castro I & II and Chavez, of course, don’t care about improving the lives of their citizens , only in power.

With Brazil, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, Paraguay and El Salvador sharing the US’s view on the autodetermination of the Cuban people, the OAS might play a major role in pressuring the Castro II regime into making some meaningful changes or in hastening its inevitable demise.

Ay Ay Ay Arias

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias continues to be that lone voice in the wilderness calling for human rights and the democratization of Cuba.

The Nobel Prize winner reiterated his wish that there should be a referendum in Cuba for the people to have a say in whether the wish Raúl Castro should continue to lead Cuba after his brother dies.

In an interview with Costa Rican radio station Radio Monumental he said that all he asks is that the right of auto-determination of all peoples be respected.

He also said that back in 1959 the Costa Rican president at the time, José Figueres, was the first to voice concerns that Fidel Castro government would turn into a communist tyranny. Arias said that he’s proud to be following in Figueres’ footsteps as well as in the footsteps of all Costa Ricans that are lovers of freedom and democracy.

Arias was attacked by the Regime’s propaganda attack dogs in Gramma where he was called an "opportunistic clown" and a "vulgar mercenary" of the United States for voicing his concerns for Cuba’s future after Castro dies.

More on Arias here and here

“Hay Dios mio, Gracias Que No Vivo En Cuba.”

The Ambassador From Ipanema

Wow! A Brazilian bombshell.

Brazil Could Help Cuba With Transition To Democracy -Envoy

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP)--Brazil's good relations with the U.S. and Cuba could help bring a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba if ailing President Fidel Castro dies, Brazil's newly appointed ambassador to the U.S. told the official government news agency.

In an interview published Monday, Antonio de Aguiar Patriota said he believed the U.S. could benefit from Brazil's analysis of the situation within the communist country.

"Cuba is geographically close and also an important country in the region, with which we have fairly close relations these days. I consider Brazil could possibly play a role in the search for a transition to democracy that could be more calm and without possible turbulence," Patriota said Monday in his first published interview as ambassador.

This is a shocking statement given Brazil’s leftist President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s, close ties to the Cuban tyranny.

Why would the Brazilian ambassador to the US mention Cuba, transition and democracy in the same sentence in his first interview to the official government news agency, you ask? And I don’t blame you; it’s baffling, but, ah there’s always but,

Patriota said Brazil also would continue to push for a permanent seat on the United Nation's Security Council, a goal that has long been a cornerstone of Silva's foreign policy.

I firmly believe that after Fidel Castro is buried, the United States is going to try to put international pressure on the only authoritarian government in the Americas using international governmental institutions such as the OAS, the UN, and the EU where the legitimacy of "Castro II’s" government is challenged.

I guess Brazil is letting Washington know that their price is a seat on the Security Council
Rest of the Article Here

Ladies in White Urge Pink Visit

Code Pink and Cindy go to Cuba to whine about how a bunch of islamofascist terrorists are being treated .

I know…..Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Yawning Chihuahua

BUT.

The Ladies in White, the Iron Ladies of Cuba, have gotten media savvy. While the Pinkos where in the Red island, the Ladies in White sent a letter to the activists urging them to help in the plight of their jailed husbands and sons.



Mother to Peace Mom.

From the AP’s Vanessa Arrington:

The Ladies in White, a group of women demanding the release of their loved ones,
described what they called "inhumane" conditions at Cuba's prisons in a letter for Sheehan that was sent to international reporters. The group said it was trying to get a copy to Sheehan as well.

"At the same time you and your noble followers fight for the closure of the U.S. prison at the Guantanamo naval base ... just a few miles away at the provincial Guantanamo prison in Cuban territory, peaceful and defenseless political prisoners suffer inhumane conditions, (living) without potable water and with poor nutrition, deficient medical assistance, insects and rodents, limited visits and precarious communication," the letter said.

"We exhort you to visit the prisons of Cuba, chosen randomly, and not those prepared" by authorities, it added.

more

It is a brilliant move to appeal to these leftists to basically get involved in the same exact cause that they claim to be in Cuba for: Human Rights.

And it will accomplish two things:

Code Pink will, of course, ignore the request to help another set of peaceful women that are working for justice and peace as Code Pink claims to be doing, thus showing their hypocrisy and their true communist funded anti-American agenda.

And by taking advantage of the media circus accompanying Code Pink to Cuba, they are able to attract some much needed media attention to the plight of their jailed loved ones. and their country.

Kings Stage Comeback in Cuba

In Cuba, January 6 is Three Kings Day. Traditionally, children get toys and gifts on this day like American children do on Christmas.

This morning the MSM tells us that Juventud Rebelde, the communist youth tabloid in Cuba, is warning Cubans against capitalist style consumerism because of the unusually high demand for toys which preceded the Three Kings Day:

"A tradition that seemed extinct in Cuban society rises again," the state-run newspaper said. "Although no one sees celebrating the millennial festivity of the Three Kings as heresy, the danger could be in (the holiday) accentuating consumerist habits and social differences."

Hummm?...............

Back in the day, they would have mocked the religious celebration as “bourgeois” and silly. But after 48 years of trying to create Che’s “new man”, a cold, calculated, atheistic communist, they have failed. They’re right back where they started with warm, loving, spiritual Cubans.

Here’s another “Three King’s Day” story:

About 30 children, all sons and daughters of Cuban political prisoners asked the communist regime to free their fathers for Three Kings Day.

They did so publicly at a gathering sponsored by the “Ladies in White” .The event was held at the Havana home of founder Laura Pollán who is married to imprisoned opposition leader Héctor Maseda who’s serving a 20 year sentence.

Laura Pollán

Pollán said that children from all over Cuba took part in the event and that not one cent from the US Government was used to stage the event. She said that funds were donated from countries and organizations within the European Union.

Late last year, the Cuban government accused the dissident movement of being US mercenaries after a GOA report revealed that there were questionable managerial and accounting practices in the USAID program designed to materially aid Cuban dissidents working towards democracy on the island.

Blooming Jewbans?

Patronato Synagogue in Havana

Sometimes the sugar coating and fluff that accompany articles on Cuba make you want to say

Oy Vei!

Here's the name of the Article:

Jewish community blooming as Cuba eases restrictions

Wow! those nice totalitarians, how magnanimous and open mindedly liberal of them.

then you read this , halfway into the article ...

By the time World War II ended in 1945, up to 25,000 Jews lived in Cuba, placing the island among the largest safe havens for Jews per-capita during the Holocaust, Dworin and other Jewish community leaders say.

But many Jews left Cuba after World War II, mainly to the United States or Argentina. The community numbered about 15,000, when Fidel Castro and his rebels toppled the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959 and ushered in socialism, leaders say.

By the late 1960s, up to 90 percent of those remaining left, after the government seized their businesses or banned their private professional practices, leaders say. Appel said nearly all her family left, most to the United States, but she stayed to care for her aging mother and aunt.

Blossoming?!? I'd say barely surviving after being sprayed with Round-Up.

Oy Vei!

Of course, the article doesn't mention how the communist regime of Cuba has considered Israel an enemy and been a staunch supporter of the PLO terrorists going as far as providing training and equipment.

What a Wonderful World

I see trees of green, red roses too

I see them bloom for me and you

And I think to myself,

what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white

The bright blessed day,

the dark sacred night

And I think to myself,

what a wonderful world

The colours of the rainbow,

so pretty in the sky

Are also on the faces of people going by

I see friends shakin' hands, sayin' "How do you do?"

They're really saying "I love you"

I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow

They'll learn much more than I'll ever know

And I think to myself,

what a wonderful world

Yes, I think to myself,

what a wonderful world

Oh yeah

This is what happens on a beautiful day and I go blog outside.

No matter how beautiful it is, there's always that one little nagging feeling that will hopefully disappear very soon.

¡Que Viva Cuba Libre!

IN VERITAS VICTORIA

Back in the day, the anti-Castro contrarrevolución was a lot more “radical” than it is today.

In those days we dreamed of armed struggle against the tyrant.

The struggle in these post-soviet days has become an information war.

The Castro Regime, by its own admission, cannot win the war because we have truth and justice on our side.

This is what Abel Prieto, Culture Minister and rising star in Raul Castro’s regime, had to say about the subject:

"It would be a delusion to think we could hide that torrent of information," he insists, referring to anti-Castro websites. "The only possibility is to beat them with a better concept of life."

In the orthodox communist dialectic, that means that they have to fabricate an alternative truth and disperse it through propaganda. They can’t. Not in today’s world. It’s too small, too connected. All they can do is try to keep people from the truth by denying them information. They haven’t been able to for 48 years and they are certainly not going to be able to do it in today’s world.

Their enemy is the TRUTH. And like Time, as Fidel found out, truth cannot be conquered.

IN VERITAS VICTORIA…VICTORY IN TRUTH

US Says: Not So Fast!

90 Minutes.

That's how long Dr. José Luis García Sabrido spent with the patient, Fidel Castro Ruz, after making a 6,000 mile housecall.

He then spent the next 48 hours telling us what the patient didn't have when news of his trip surfaced.

From the Lexington Herald Leader:

"The bottom line: He is terminally ill," said Ross Feinstein

The U.S. ambassador to Madrid, Eduardo Aguirre, told reporters yesterday that García Sabrido's comments might have been part of a Cuban "propaganda"ploy.

Aguirre, in Washington for a gathering of U.S. ambassadors to Europe, said he
considered the doctor's diagnosis suspicious, echoing similar claims that other
U.S. officials have made before -- but always in private.

Article Here

From Breitbart:

"We believe that he has months, not years," Feinstein said, adding that "nothing has changed in the director's assessment" since the doctor's comments on Castro late last month.

Last month, when a congrassional "fact" finding delegation returned from a vist to Havana, one of the congressman shared this "fact":

'He'll be back,' was the story, and 'he doesn't have terminal cancer,' is what government officials told us," Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, said at the time.

In fact, we were told while we were in Cuba that the medical doctors treating Fidel Castro are sequestered, are isolated even from their own families," he said.

Article Here

From Killcastro - A war Blog:

But they pulled the fastest diagnostic on a man who’s been convalescing for 6 months! Maybe Dr. Sabrido needed to get back to some xmas unwrapping but it was all TOO fast , too clandestine too cloak and dagger and THERE it is when you get caught! And OOPSY DAISY!

Just so they know....they ain't fooling anybody!

Post from 12/26/06 Here

Everytime, a rumor has gotten a little too big or a US official comments, the regime has reacted by doing something to disprove the rumors.

Let's see what they do now!

Dos Héroes De La Contrarrevolución

Cuando niño, en Cuba, mi gran terror era que prendieran a mi padre por “contrarrevolucionario”, como habían hecho con los padres de algunos de mis amigos escolares.

Claro, que en si, no hacían contrarrevolución ni un diablo. Solamente trataban de resolver como se dice hoy en día.

Pero para un niño, que era señalado por que el y su familia eran “Gusanos” y querían irse para el norte, cundía el pánico.

Son esas las razones por cual este blog se llama la contrarrevolución (en spanglish) y yo escribo bajo El Gusano.

La Contrarrevolución tiene sus héroes y estos son dos de ellos. Son Luis Grass (I) y Marcial Lasanta (D).

Estos dos Gusanos, o “truckonauts” (camionautas) como se conocen en EE.UU., hicieron historia y capturaron la imaginación del mundo cuando hicieron su escape de la antilla totalitaria con “tremendo cachet”:

¿Por que los considero héroes de la contrarrevolución?

Por que le demostraron al mundo de que el espíritu cubano es indominable y que anhela ser libre Y porque pintaron la proa del “bote” del mismo color que el camión.

Los dos héroes están construyendo una duplica de la “embarcación” original. La duplica se llama Libertad y se estrenara en la Bahía de Vizcaya (Biscayne Bay), en Miami muy pronto.

Luis Grass le dijo al Palm Beach post, que cuando Cuba sea libre, navegaran la nueva embarcación a Cuba

El articulo en ingles por la Cubana Liz Balsameda aquí

Tale of Two Countries

Blooger Ate My Posting.
Here's what should have been posted this morning:


Martín Torrijos, President of Panama, was in Havana this week to meet with interim Cuban dictator, Raul Castro. During the visit, officials from both countries reviewed bilateral relationships.

Along with Castro, the Cuban delegation consisted of Carlos Lage, Fernando Ramírez de Estenoz y Felipe Pérez Roque. The participating Panamanians were Carlos Vallerino, Economic y Finance Ninister and Ángel Omar Rodríguez, Panama’s ambassador to Cuba.

As part of his agenda, the visitor toured the Latin American School of Medicine, where over 10,000 students from 28 countries, including 400 Panamanians, are studying.

In this fourth visit to Cuba since he came into power in 2004, Torrijos has held separate meetings with other Cuban officials, such as Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon, and Government minister Ricardo Cabrisas.

------

Torrijos as his father before him , Omar Torrijos, is a Castro groupie who had hoped to meet his idol, Fidel, one last time in this odd visit with little agenda.

.

The ex- Cuban dictator , who according to the Cuban regime and his Spanish doctor, is recuperating so satisfactorily that he may return to power soon, was in no condition to receive his Panamanian fan who left empty handed, misty eyed and quietly.

Meanwhile, another Central American country, El Salvador, is not planning on establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba due of the lack of freedom on the island and because of the communists regime’s intervention in El Salvador’s civil war.

Eduardo Cálix, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, said in an interview that Cuba doesn’t share the same democratic principles as El Salvador and that the Cuban government shows no signs of having any value for freedom or show a willingness to strengthen democratic institutions.

Cálix also strongly criticized Cuba’s involvement in fomenting El Salvador's revolution, an armed conflict that took the lives of 75,000 Salvadorans between 1980 and 1992.

------

Obviously, those who have experienced the evil of the Castro regime know that it makes no sense to sit and legitimize their murderous agenda.

Let’s not forget that Castro’s dream was to bring down Latin American society and replace with his own twisted brand of a collective revolutionary society.

Let’s not forget that his disciple, Hugo Chavez, is trying to carry out his mentor’s dream.

Chavez also had a new year's visit planned to Havana to meet his recuperating dictator- mentor but cancelled it without comment and sent Castro more Venezuelan national treasures.(documents from Bolivar).

It's Now Official: Castro Will Die!

All Psychics, Charlatans and New Age Occultists are now tripping all over each other to publicly predict the obvious:

Fidel Castro Will Die in 2007!

Even Ex-Director of American Intelligence, John Negroponte, got into the act last month.

But with this guy, Antonio Vazquez, Mexico's self-proclaimed "Grand Warlock" or "Brujo Mayor" getting into the act, it's a lock.

MEXICO CITY (AP) -By THERESA BRAINE

Fidel Castro will be dead by May. Presidential candidate-turned-protest leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will fade into obscurity. The anti-immigration wall between the United States and Mexico will not get built.

Cuban expatriates in Miami might take special interest in Vazquez's forecast that the 80-year-old Castro, who temporarily ceded power to his brother Raul five months ago following emergency surgery for intestinal bleeding, will die in the next four months May. Raul will then develop closer relations to the United States, and eventually the long-banished casinos will be back.

Vazquez also said 2007 will be "100 percent feminine," with women rising to prominence on the world's artistic and political stages."

Article Here

O.K. My Two Quilitos:

First of all, I am not ex-pat, I am an exile.

Second of all, we exiles don't want casinos, we want elections.

Thirdly, as far as Cuba goes, did he mean "100 per cent effeminate, maybe?"

Fidel in the Way

We’ll Talk After the Funeral

Whatever Uncle Sam has up his sleeves, we will not find out until after the Funeral.

In an article in today’s Miami Herald:

''We see that this regime has made this successful transfer of power and is trying to consolidate itself, but it can't define itself or separate itself from Fidel,'' Thomas Shannon, assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, said in an interview. ``My guess is that we're not going to see that until Fidel Castro is dead and buried.''

''Fidel Castro is in this odd moment where he is neither alive nor dead politically. He is alive physically, but he's not in charge day to day, and he's obviously not present day to day, but it appears that he still has the ability to sit up in bed and give orders occasionally,'' Shannon said.

..and on the question in everyone's mind:

''We know he's really sick, that he's not really getting any better,'' Shannon said. ``But it's not clear to us what his problem is and what his timeline is, if I can speak of it crudely. Negroponte said that the information available to us portrays his demise in a question of months as opposed to years, but the reality is that we don't know because the Cubans don't share that information.''''We know he's really sick, that he's not really getting any better,'' Shannon said. ``But it's not clear to us what his problem is and what his timeline is, if I can speak of it crudely. Negroponte said that the information available to us portrays his demise in a question of months as opposed to years, but the reality is that we don't know because the Cubans don't share that information.''

Even if Raul’s tenure as dictator doesn’t deviate from his brother's too much, it is unlikely that his regime will be long-lived.

Cuba’s regime is nothing more than organized crime; corrupt to the core. The only thing that keeps all these thugs in line is the fear of the Godfather, Fidel, who keeps them all in line.
It remains to be seen if once Godfather is buried, the regime can survive the orgy of theft and corruption that will ensue.

A Lifting Veil?

It seems like the winds of change are finally blowing the veil that once obscured the truth about Cuba's slavery away.

Fads , social customs , fashion; they all seem to follow some indiscernible current, a subliminal understanding, a Jungian universal conscience.

We all seem to be attracted to and want do the same thing at the same time for some unexplainable reason.

Is the social undercurrent finally flowing to expose the Cuban regimes cruelty and brutality?

This from Blog for Cuba

This from Babalu

Now this from The Miami Times. A well written , gritty piece.

Che is for tourists. Poverty is for Cubans

Waiting for Him to Go
Castro’s Cuba brims with hushed anticipation, and paranoia
By Our Woman in Havana

an excerpt . I loved the writing style of this reporter, BTW

Everywhere everyone spewed about how this was the worst holiday season ever (no pork cutlets for Nochebuena, don't even think about an entire pig), worse than the Special Period after the collapse of the Soviet Union, worse than anything anyone had ever seen. People openly panhandled in the streets — something unseen five years ago. Buildings everywhere are peeling, crumbling, disintegrating into the streets. Internet, cell phones — hell, even phones — are nonexistent for regular Cubans. Even acting president Raul Castro went on national TV while I was there to carp about how bad the transportation and food situations were. "In this revolution, we are tired of excuses," he grumbled. On the street, all it took was a "How's Havana?" or a simple "How are you?" to launch a bitter rant.

and another:

Yet the tourists — mostly German, French, and Spanish — still go. There are fewer Americans these days, but they are there, hiding behind their dog-eared Lonely Planet guides and mojitos. Some have a passing curiosity about Fidel, but many are happy to see Cuba in all its communist Disneyland glory.

"I want to see it before it changes," was the common refrain.

I know its been a long time coming, but hell, the tide may finally be turning on the regime. Maybe it is now going to become chic to point out its many failures. Hopefully Castro bashing is the new wave of the future.

Latest Chapter in Delahunt/Flake Drama

More on the Delahunt/Flake congressional visit to Cuba and its fall out:

In our last episode , Cuban dissidents Elizardo Sánchez , Marta Beatriz Roque, Vladimiro Roca, and Gisela Delgado asked the Congressmen “to do everything in your reach to urgently normalize the humanitarian assistance in the form of medicines, foodstuffs, and other materials needed for sustenance and to recognize the positive role of the programs that allowed the said aid to reach us.”

A reader was kind enough to forward the Congressmen’s response to the Cuban dissidents:

Martha Beatriz Roque
Assembly to Promote Civil
Society

Gisela Delgado Sablon
Independent Libraries
Project

Elizardo Sanchez Santa Cruz
Cuban Commission for Human
Rights and National Reconciliation

Vladimiro Roca
Social
Democratic Party and spokesman of “Todos Unidos”

Havana,
Cuba

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your letter of December 16, which we received from the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.

We also saw the statement that you issued on November 23, in which you call for an end to the restrictions that the United States imposes on travel and the sending of aid to Cuba. We agree that the elimination of those restrictions would provide humanitarian and many other benefits to the peoples of both our countries. We also want you to know that in talks with Cuban officials in Havana, we once again urged the elimination of travel restrictions that the Cuban government imposes on its own citizensWe would like to address your questions about the GAO report on the Cuba programs of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

We have sought information about the USAID program.

We began by asking direct, routine questions of AID officials. After that agency declined to answer questions, we asked GAO, an auditing agency, to do a report.

The report found that there are serious management problems in the program.

Some of USAID’s management failures have led to excesses that have subjected the program to public ridicule. We expect that the program’s management will be improved.

Your letter is the first information we have received regarding an interruption of aid under this program. The U.S. Interests Section did not mention this in our conversations. We do not doubt the information you are providing us, but we would be surprised if the Administration were to have reacted to the GAO report by suspending humanitarian aid. No one in Congress has asked for aid to be suspended, and we know of no one in the Administration who supports such a step.

Nonetheless, as we noted above, it is often difficult to obtain information about this program. We will seek answers to your questions and we will ask that the Administration answer you directly.

We and our colleagues very much appreciate your letter and your views on these issues. We have long believed that te U.S. travel restrictions and other aspects of the embargo block contacts that we should be encouraging between our two countries – exchanges of information and ideas, family visits, student and people-to-people exchanges, humanitarian aid of all types. We believe that, especially now, the relations between the Cuban and American peoples should be far broader than merely those envisioned in U.S. government programs. As we continue our work we hope we will always be able to count on your candid opinions.

Sincerely,

Bill Delahunt
Jeff Flake

Unfortunately, from their response , I don’t get a sense of urgency or responsibility for the plight of the dissidents on the part of congressmen Delahunt or Flake even though the dissident’s current plight is a direct consequence of their actions. I can’t believe how optimistic they are about “broadening” relations between the Cuban and American people, after the snub they just received in Havana. . It should have become clear to them during their visit that the Cuban regime isn’t interested in broadening anything but our graves; to bury us, like Nikita vowed.

Both the administration and its critics need to realize that their political scrimmages have an impact on these brave and vulnerable dissidents being held hostage in Cuba by brutal and unscrupulous thugs who don’t like people expressing their “candid opinions”.

We can safely sit here in the land of the free and home the brave and point fingers, but when we do, we need to be careful innocents don't get poked.

Enough ranting. (there goes Another New Year's Resolution down the tubes)

For those who want to refresh their memories or are not familiar with the Delahunt/Flake Telenovela, you can click here to get a quick synopsis previous episodes. (previous post)

Thanks to our reader for remembering and looking out for the Cuban Dissidents.

Previously on the Flake Factfinding Novela.....

The Congressional Fact- Finding visit to Cuba led by William Delahunt (D) and Jeff Flake (R) is now a telenovela.

In Previous Episodes:

The Congressman, who are critical of the administration’s Cuba policy and the series of ecomomic sanctions referred to as the “embargo”, asked the GOA to audit the USAID program to materially assist dissidents in Cuba. Once the report was made public, ridicule of the program and the about how the grant dollars were spent, mostly Cuban by exile organizations, ensued.

Among the items purchased with taxpayer’s dollars were gameboy video games which raised the ever cocked eyebrow of the Miami-Herald. The father of one of the gameboy recipients then wrote an article about the gift his son received which was published in the Nuevo Herald. I translated the letter here.

Next, Delahunt and Flake, along with eight colleagues, flew to Havana to explore ecomomic ties with the new dictator who in a speech on Dec 2, 2006 had offered to negotiate with the US as equals.. The Cuban dissidents who had been receiving the aid, asked to meet with the congressman while they were in Havana, but couldn’t.

The day before the delegation got to Havana, the Cuban regime went on the offensive and using the GOA report labeled the Cuban dissidents as US paid mercenaries.

While in Havana, Raul did not meet with the delegation and they were used to repeat the party line that Fidel Castro was not terminally ill and would eventually return to being dictator.

After the delegation left Havana, the Cuban dissidents felt that they had been left out of the meetings because the congressmen believed that they would stand a better chance of meeting with Raul Castro if they didn’t meet with the dissidents. Marta Beatriz Roque, a leading dissident summed the whole affair up succinctly and eloquently by saying that the congressional delegation "had not only left empty-handed, but with dirty hands as well"

The Cuban Regime also warned the US against supporting dissent in Cuba and threatened to “adopt, at any time, the measures it deems necessary for confronting this type of aggression”

Cubanophobia in the Palm Beaches

Fear Not, White People

My new Year’s resolution is not to be too sarcastic.

The Palm Beach Post has a PSA article today to reassure Anglos and other non-Cubans in South Florida that their elected officials are ready to defend them against “those crazy Cubans” once Castro dies and the unruly hoard of drunken foreigners takes to the streets in search of white women.

Local police are hoping their involvement after Castro dies isn't as confrontational. In places with large Cuban populations, such as Miami-Dade and the city of Key West, authorities expect large-scale celebrating in the street - with many celebrants drinking something stronger than Maria Vazquez's cider.

"Those police departments may just have to decide what streets to close to traffic" to accommodate the celebrants, says Amos Rojas Jr., FDLE special agent in charge. "Let's hope that's all that happens."

The article also tries to calm the fears of South Florida property owners who have seen the value of their homes depreciate by as much as 10% in the last few months, by assuring them that there will not be another “Mariel” or MME, Mass Migration Event, after Castro’s death, to negatively affect property values even further.

Santayana quoting James Brooks, spokesman for the Naval Air Station in Key West has this to say:

"Everybody knows what happened at the time of Mariel”

"We want to learn from history and not repeat it,"

MME phobias and Cubanophobias were further appeased with the revelation that there’s even a code name for the readiness plan:

"Operation Vigilant Sentry" is Homeland Security's game plan to react to any large movement of migrants towards U.S. shores from the south. The plan is about 1,000 pages long and was the text for the recent exercise.

Palm Beach County officials participated in that exercise, including law enforcement, fire rescue and health department officials.

"We have standing commitments to coordinate and cooperate with other departments in the Homeland Security Task Force," says Paul Miller, spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

He said one task for which the sheriff's office might be mobilized is search and rescue

Would that be the search and rescue of white people trapped behind third world country enemy lines?

Rest of the Article Here

Low Key Totalitarianism

New Year, no Fidel in sight.

There were no videos, radio messages, pictures or sightings of the dictator in Cuba this weekend, although a psychic in Mexico says he’s already on a different “plane”

The commemorative festivities for the revolution’s 48th anniversary in the island consisted of block parties, fairs, and concerts.

The regime designed and heavily promoted a campaign for people to go out and celebrate; almost forcing people to go out and dance in the streets. Mercifully, they were spared any political acts or speeches.

Raul is trying to begin his dictatorship on a good note, establishing a low key totalitarianism. What better way to win over some support from the Cubans that have ridiculed him for years than to give them a few days off and organize a big bash?

Today was supposed to be the day where new workplace rules designed to improve services and productivity were to have gone into effect, but the regime announced a postponement until April. Rumors then started that new economic initiatives might be announced early this month, perhaps today. We wait.

Raul’s propaganda machine has been busy in the last month hinting that the more pragmatic Castro brother will likely loosen some restrictions on private entrepreneurship.
That move plus not making people sit through statistics-laden multi-hour long speeches will be a relief to the long suffering Cubans.

Happy New Year News From The EU

From BBC News:

Romania and Bulgaria join the EU

Huge celebrations have been held in Romania and Bulgaria to mark their accession to the European Union, 17 years after the fall of Communism

Tens of thousands attended concerts in the two capitals, Bucharest and Sofia.

The Romanian president said EU entry was an "enormous chance for future generations", while Bulgaria's leader said it was a "heavenly moment".

Their accession means the EU now has 27 members and half a billion people, and stretches as far east as the Black Sea.

Germany also takes over from Finland for six months as the country holding the presidency of the European Union.

Great news on two fronts.

For one, it shows that once the yoke of Marxism is lifted, progress and democracy naturally blossom from its ruin. Hope for Cuba.

And another, two more anti-communist allies joined the European Union today.

This is going to be an important part for the international push for the democratization in Cuba, currently being lead by Czech Republic in the European Parliament.

It is my belief that once Fidel Castro is dead, that the US, through the UN and the OAS, and the Czech Republic in the EU Parliament, will refuse to legitimize the unelected government of Raúl Castro and try to force him into moving towards democratization.

Two more Ex-Warsaw pact countries in the EU Parliament, will make it easier for the Czechs, Hungarians, Poles and others to push the EU to put pressure on the Cuban regime. If Fidel dies within the next six months, having Germany, which suffered from 1945 to 1989 from being divided due to the Soviet Empire, at the presidency will further help with the Cuban pro-democracy in the EU.

Japi Nu Yiar

Anoche, bueno no anoche, hoy por la madrugada,¡ Al fin! con más certidumbre que en años anteriores pude alzar la copa de Cava y proclamar con alegría como un buen judío caribeño:

¡ El Próximo Ano, En La Habana!

Como de costumbre, Dick Clark , hablaba desde la pantalla, resucitado. Mas viejo que andar a pie, el señor Clark estuvo al borde de la muerte, pero ahí estaba, vivito y coleando…………….



Uh oh……..

Se me parqueo la tiñosa