Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Dissent Comes At Long Last to Babalú


Maybe, just maybe, the truth is finally getting through; and maybe, just maybe, diverging points of view are now allowed on babalu even among its posters; and, maybe, just maybe, I have not plowed the seas:


FROM BABALU: FLASH!!!


On Sting and Silence

Sting and The Police are remaining suspiciously silent in the face of widespread calls to denounce repression in Cuba. Could it be that Sting’s long track record of standing up for human rights is coming to an end? I believe it might. When Henry Gomez approached guitarist Andy Summers with a simple plea to stand up for human rights in Cuba, the acclaimed musician offered nothing more than an offer to share the message with his bandmates. This while seated in what is perhaps the most popular restaurant (Versailles) in a city home to hundreds of thousands of exiles from one of the most repressive nations in the world.

Cuba is perhaps one of the most obvious examples of a black and white issue. Either you’re for the Cuban people or against them. There is no midway point. There is no negotiation with a corrupt regime stocked with career criminals. Summers could have replied: yes, what has been happening on the island over the course of nearly five decades constitutes a massive crime. Rather, he merely saw fit to offer sharing Gomez’s points with Sting & Co. How nice of you to make that offer, Mr. Summers. And Sting? Well, his silence on this issue over the past few weeks speaks volumes. If these men are unable to issue a concrete statement on the Cuba conundrum, if composing a statement requires weeks of thought over such an obvious issue, then I would argue their hearts are at least somewhat with Fidel and not the struggling people of our beloved island.

What’s more, Mr. Summers isn’t the naïve musician many of us – including this author – thought he was. Our own Humberto Fontova chronicled his round of Stalinist bootlicking in a recent NewsMax article:

"We completely lost our composure!" squealed English songstress, Ruth Merry. "As we lined up, an excited Andy Summers of the Police stood next to me with his copy of Castro's 'History Will Absolve Me.' Andy was nervously contemplating asking Castro to sign it - and he finally DID!...Here were all these huge stars, quaking with anticipation!....I lost any composure and degenerated into a heap of nervous giggling for the rest of the evening!"

Well boys . . . what's it gonna be? We await your answer.
Posted at Babalú by CubaWatcher at 02:36 PM

[I HAVE REPRODUCED THIS POST IN TOTO FOR FEAR THAT VAL WOULD SHORTLY DELETE IT FROM BABALU AND TO ASSURE THAT HE WON'T]

Postcript:

Henry has moved his avoirdupois a full 360 degrees. Now the 2nd BUCL Campaign is no longer about Sting and The Police, nor even about the "Invisible Ones" (political prisoners):

The Police is our vehicle to get a message out there. Whether they change their tune (pardon the pun) or not, doesn't really matter. If they are exposed as hypocrites, it doesn't matter. What matters is that for once someone else (other than Castro, inc.) is driving the news about Cuba, even if it's for a minute. That's what this is all about.
Posted by: Henry "Conductor" Gomez at July 11, 2007 06:41 PM

So that is what "this" is all about! Today. Tomorrow, Henry will think of something else that "this" can be about.

http://www.babalublog.com/archives/005614.html

16 comments:

Vana said...

What dissent at Babalu? by a Babalunian? never...LOL...let's see if Val deletes it

Mambi_Watch said...

Yeah, what dissent are you talking about Tellechea?

Sharpshooter said...

Manuel,
as I said do not expect anything from leftists like the Police to speak up on the subject of Cuba. If this was about Pinochet's Chile or Botha's South Africa you will have them up there speaking up ad naseum against those two regimes and the lack of human rights. But God forbid anyone mentions anything against their icon Castro. To ask for criticism from the Police is like to expect Mambo Watch to stop denigrating and isnsulting the Cuban exiles (I wonder what he is?) and his praise of anything that has to do with Cuba. Is just not possible. One should not expect peaches from an elm tree.

Vana said...

Oh Oh Manuel, Mambo is back...lol

Vana said...

Agustin:

I expect nothing from anyone, specially those on the left, they all love and idolize the beast of Biran, to them kaggastro is a hero.
It's a sad state of affairs my friend

Vana said...

Has anyone heard from !Ya No Mas!? he has not been around for a long time, I hope he's ok

The Wizard said...

Let's not forget Stewart Copeland and of course Andy Summers each went there for a Music Bridges concert in February 1999 where they performed with an eclectic group including Bonnie Raitt, Peter Frampton, Gladys Knight, Lisa Loeb, the Indigo Girls, Joan Osborne, J.D. Souther and Burt Bacharach.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Pancho (aka Mambo):

What CubaWatcher is saying is that BUCL, and, particularly Henry, got stinged in this whole Police affaire. He exposes, in a subtle but telling manner, Henry's monumental naivete and reduces his great "coup" at the Versailles to its real dimensions. Absolutely devastating in every respect, CubaWatcher's post is no less than an act of mutiny. And we all know that Val is fond of hanging an admiral now and then to encourage the others. It was necessary to highlight this post in order to stop Val from deleting it or taking reprisals against CubaWatcher. The birth of dissent within Babalú, especially on the part of the new recruits, is certainly noteworthy and does not bode well for Val's control over the diminishing tribe of the Babalunians.

Fantomas said...

Vana yano mas site passed away

parece que no aguanto la presion

se metio con la gente equivocada

big mistake

Vana said...

Well Manuel, seems you beat Val to it, he could not delete it because you posted it here, you shrewd observer.

Mambi_Watch said...

I should do a campaign where everyone dances the mambo while protesting the embargo.

Then you'll be mambo watchin'!

[Takes a deep breath]

About the "dissent", I think Cuba Watcher was just being honest about the BUCL campaign. It was definitely a lot softer on Sting in comparison to the position towards Spain.

Gomez or BUCL members knew better than to say that Sting was oppressing people, like they suggested with Spain.

I heard Mr. Gomez on Radio Mambi late last week with Armando Perez Roura and the anaysis of BUCL became clear there.

It was weak in comparison to the hardliners of Radio Mambi. Perez-Roura even sounded like he didn't understand what the whole point was. To him Sting is part of the enemy already because he has been to Cuba and played there. So this BUCL campaign to him was worthless, since enemies are enemies forever.

But, near the end of the show on Radio Mambi, Perez-Roura finally understood one point that Mr. Gomez has kept secret so far:

The future boycott of Sting's music.

Perez-Roura described it as "attack[ing] his wallet". Mr. Gomez and others agreed with this idea on the show.

This was the position of the BUCL campaign that was left out: Sting must say something about Cuban political prisoners or face a boycott.

But, it seems that the BUCLers decided to tone down that rhetoric. And now they see that the original aim of the campaign was weak and useless to their cause.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Pancho:

Remember that my name for you is "Mambo Watcher," which means that you like to watch the mambo being danced but don't dance it yourself.

Except here.

For whatever reason, Pancho, when you visit my blog you do dance the mambo and do it pretty well.

Everything that you have said here about the BUCLers is 100% on target. They are not really hardliners in the traditional sense because they don't have any historical perspective and depend too much on improvisation rather than the old verities for their success (or lack of it).

When in the company of a real hardliner like Pérez Roura, they are like little kids around an older and vastly "cooler" brother.

If Pérez Roura had asked them to expose Sting as gay, they would have embraced that idea as well.

So what are the Babalunians now about? Protests and boycotts.

BUCL hasn't "revolutionized" anything.

Anonymous said...

Well it seems that Mr. Tellechea was caught in a lie. Or he simply can't read. Or perhaps he can't comprehend. Or perhaps he doesn't want to comprehend. Either way the goal of BUCL is clear as day in their FAQ.

What is Bloggers United for Cuban Liberty?
It’s a group of bloggers, webmasters and others whose mission is it is to pool resources and ideas to promote a free Cuba.

How can BUCL achieve it’s mission, isn’t that what we are all trying to do already?
Yes we are trying to get our side of the story out there so that hopefully the news media can pick it up but individually we have a lot less power than as a group.


Link to FAQs of BUCL

Perhaps Mr. Tellechea, despite his great ability to rhyme, can't see the forest from the trees because of his own petty jealousies.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

It seems Mr. Lechero has been caught being an idiot. But being an idiot is instinctive to him. Endeavoring to appear smart is the pose.

What, pray, is this "lie" that I've been caught in? It's been a couple of days so I am sure he's already forgotten.

Let me answer his idiotic questions in a frank manner, which he is constititutionally incapable of doing:

What is Bloggers United for Cuban Liberty?

It is a group of 5 or 6 cynical individuals who pool together their resources to provide Henry with the means to make a fool of himself.

How can BUCL achieve its mission, isn’t that what we are all trying to do already?

Well, I see BUCL has downgraded its aspirations from "campaigns" to "missions." What comes next? Stunts? And then pranks? Culminating in tricks? Tricks are for kids. Individually, you count for nothing. Together, you count for nothing. What you represent is unmitigated failure.

Anonymous said...

It's apparent that you've got a severe case of blog envy. Perhaps it's Mr. Prieto's readership you desire or Mr. Gomez' ability to lead others that drives your jealousy but something is certainly not right with you Tocayo when you ascribe goals that are non-existent to activities you seem unwilling to understand even when they are spelled out in black and white.

Why don't you change the name of this blog to "I'm sorry Val and Henry for getting banned from your blog please let me back into your good graces"? It's only slightly more clumsy than the current name and a whole lot more accurate. Or you can simply call it Man Love Gone Wild.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Lechero:

Val apologized here and on Babalú blog for having booted me "by mistake." He even claimed to have sent me an e-mail apologizing as well (which I never received). Several of Babalú's satellites have also written to me telling me how aggrieved Val is and anxious to make amends. I have rebuffed these overtures. I have absolutely no interest in reconciling with Val or returning to Babalú.

In fact, the day before he booted me Val had invited me to write a guest post for Babalú. I declined. No doubt my refusal had much to do with his booting me. Apparently, no one before had declined that "honor" or since.

His rash action in booting me — the product of a second's thought — he has had the leisure to regret and regret for thousands of hours and he will regret it for many more.