Monday, March 10, 2008

Zapatero Wins Spanish Elections

There has not been a free election in Cuba in half a century, although there have been many elections elsewhere fraught with significance for Cubans. Every U.S. election since 1959. In Latin America, the elections in Chile, Nicaragua and Venezuela, respectively, that brought Allende, Ortega and Chávez to power. Many others, including papal conclaves. And now there is another: yesterday's victory of the Socialists in Spain which returns Zapatero to power. This effectively eliminates the Spanish government as a factor for constructive change in Cuba. We can expect it, however, to continue to exercise its influence in the European parliament as a factor for accommodation with the Castro regime. The recent rescission of all sanctions on Cuba
was the work of Zapatero. We can expect him now to continue to lobby the other European countries on behalf of Castro and against the freedom of the Cuban people.

Of course, Spaniards vote their own interests, not ours. So do Americans. Moreover, their media misinform the Spanish people about Cuba just as the U.S. media mislead Americans. It is so the world over except where Communism is a living memory.

Another election will take place later this year which will have an even greater impact on Cuba's future than yesterday's contest in Spain. If Barack Obama, an even more radical Socialist than Rodríguez Zapatero, wins that election then all hope will be lost for Cuba.

From our perspective, there was little that Cuban exiles could do to affect the elections in Spain short of moving there and claiming Spanish citizenship on the basis of our grandparents' nationality. There is much, however, that Cuban-Americans can do to stop Barack Obama. The first thing is to rally behind John McCain, as most have already done except for pockects of obscurantism in the blogosphere. Let the catastrophe in Spain be a warning to us of the greater catastrophe that faces us. In 2000, Cuban-Americans saved this country from one peril, although we did not exactly do ourselves or Cuba much of a favor. In November 2008, we may be all that stands between freedom and tyranny, not only for Cuba but the United States.

33 comments:

Ms Calabaza said...

I can't believe the Spanish voted for Zapatero's government again. . . too bad for Cuba.

Sharpshooter said...

MAT and Friends,
I was lucky enough to have a Cuban Blogger from Germany called El abicu Liberal, to have published an article of mine regarding my impressions of the recent Summit of Rio celebrated in Santo Domingo.
My gratitude to our friend and defender of Cuban freedom, Jorge Pomar.
Below is the web site where it was published.

http://abiculiberal.blogspot.com/

Ms Calabaza said...

Sr. Farinas,
como decian mis padres Camagueyanos, "te la comiste!".

Great post.

Sharpshooter said...

Ms. Calabaza, Thank you, but this should have been obvious to all present there at the Summit, but as the saying goes:
"No hay pero ciego que el que no quiere ver"
The ostrich attitude of those uncaring Presidents of Chile, Argentina, Brasil, and many others was disgusting and shameful. The others, such as Chavez, Ortega, Correa and Evo,
there is no need to mention them since they are part of the problem. What I gather from this meeting is that we have a long way to go before we are taking seriously by other governments and peoples of the world. When one sees most of the Presidents giving a round of applause to a clown like Chavez, in a gathering so important were the possibility of a war betwen several countries of the region was present, one comes away with the notion that indiference,stupidity and ignorance reign supreme in Latin America. Except for Alvaro Uribe, the region is governed by a bunch of indolents and hipocrites. That is why he said at the opening of his speech that he was not born to be a politician because farce and hipocrisy were needed for such a function and he was not born to be that way. It was a great display of diplomacy and common sense, virtues that are sorely lacking in Latin America, sad to say.

Ms Calabaza said...

"When one sees most of the Presidents giving a round of applause to a clown like Chavez . . .one comes away with the notion that indiference,stupidity and ignorance reign supreme in Latin America."

true, but these folks would clap at the devil, me thinks. It's all amount GREED.

Sharpshooter said...

Ms. Calabaza,
The sight of Ms. Fernandez de Kirchner making such an enthusiastic defense of Ecuador's sovereignty and at the same time being so indignant about a supposed agression to Ecuador by Colombia, while blatantly ignoring the fact that the terrorists were camping and sleeping (by their defender's own account) right on Ecuadorean territory, prompted my comentaries about the Summit.
This diatribe is coming from a woman who in her own country, calls herself a great defender of human rights around the world. Of course, the Cuban regime in her mind does not qualify as a violator of basic human rights. You see the Cuban regime was a supporter, supplier of training, provider and accomplice of their own terrorists, when husband Nestor was a member of the Montoneros, which basically used some of the same tactics as the FARC used today. Sort of birds of the same feather flock....
"Por ahi es por donde le entra el agua al coco", as my mother would say.
And Michelle Bachelet should have known better than to keep her mouth shut, and lend herself to this disgraceful theater when she herself was a victim of terroristm from the right, when her father was assasinated many years ago. But it seems so long as the the terrorists are covered by the pathina of "leftists guerrillas", suddenly their crimes are not the same as those from the right. In my book you will find that under H for hipocrisy.
Such are the Presidents our America has to suffer and endure. Feed the Colombians to the wolves, and then our own skins will be safe. A real illusion.

Anonymous said...

Zapatero is a punition.He has divided the country and had un-burried the ghost of the Civil War.Mr. Zapatero came back to resucitate a ghost to avoid focusing on the real problems of Spain. Then, to maintain power, he sold Spain to the CiU and the Catalan Nationalists.

Fantomas said...

Mira esto Mat

Lawmaker Wants to Make Anonymous Internet Posting Illegal...

Y ahora la noticia del dia


NEW YORK GOVERNOR LINKED TO PROSTITUTION RING

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

fantomas:

The pope has just invented 7 additional "Deadly Sins." The world is filled with interesting news, and if Cuba did not require our wholehearted attention, there would be at least one hundred other subjects every day that we might be tempted to blog about.

Still, the news about outlawing anonymous internet does merit our attention since it affects the medium which we use to convey our opinions about Cuba. Thank-you for letting me know.

Anonymous said...

Ah, one of those higher than thou liberal democrats from New York getting caught in a sex scandal, tell me if that doesn't sound good.

Elliot Spitzer, the Governor of New York HAS to pay for sex and pleasure.
I am sure that it disqualifies him as a Governor. We are here in front of an aggressive guy who conducted a no-fair play campaign to get to the highest office of the State. He steamrolled everybody else, and was the terror of the Wall Streeters.... and, well, he gets caught in a high end prostitution ring investigation, where high falutin hookers were paid about 5,500.00 and hour. No wonder how real estate is so pricey in Manhattan.

His idol, Bill Clinton, at least never paid for sex, got what he wanted and more for free -and then lied about it.
Another Governor, good next door boy Jim McGreevey had a scandal of his own too, but hey the guy was on Oprah and sold books just for doing the same Spitzer did, but with boys instead of with gals.

Whatever happened to the good old fashion men of power that seduced women -real non-enhanced ones- with their aura of power, their well chosen words, and they didn't have to pay an hourly fee? The hourly fee thing -for as high as it might be- always leaves an impression of low class and a mercenary smell to it. Older times politicians never paid a tariff for love, even all of them were generous and gave pretty handsome gifts to their paramours from jewels, to cars, to apartments and what not. Don't get me wrong, I think that political women did the same, too, but they were far less numerous.

And well, that's the guy who had the Empire State in his hands....

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

charlie:

Power has always been an aphrodisiac. How else can one explain bola de churre's attraction to women? I don't doubt that certain women were also attracted to Spitzer, but, apparently, those were not the women he wanted. The women he wanted may have had appendages not ordinarily found on women.

Fantomas said...

por 5500 an hour , tiene que ser tremenda hembra, rica por todos los , cabello hermoso, mujer con clase, distincion, conocimientos, una cara increible, digo eso es para empezar , aparte de lo que pueda hacer en la cama , con su lengua etc
$ 5500 that's a lot of money these days.. a 107 dolares el barril

Fantomas said...

Oye Mat habra alguna mujer en Cuba ahora, con la revolucion , que se pueda ganar $ 5500 la hora

habra alguna que cumpla todos o algunos de los requisitos antes mencionados

Yo me inclino a pensar que si

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

fantomas:

Are you really this naive? Did you fail to understand the implication in my comment?

Anonymous said...

What was Spitzer getting for his $5500 that Oscar Corral wouldn't have gotten for his $50?

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Anonymous:

I don't know what Corral would have "gotten" but he offered less than one percent what Spitzer did.

Which reminds me: today must be one of those "déjà vu all over again" days for Oscar. There's the Cuban angle on this story.

Fantomas said...

Did you fail to understand the implication in my comment?


Of course not Mat... That was my intention, think

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

To misunderstand is always your intention, fantomas.

Anonymous said...

"Client-9,"FBI affidavit read on;

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0310082spitzer1.html

Fantomas said...

lol

Anonymous said...

It's clear from the document that Customer #9 was a repeat customer and that he intended to use them again in the future. Read pages 34 to 39. They discuss his having a credit balance and whether he can leave more than he owes for future visits.

Anonymous said...

I sincerely doubt Spitzer will be charged with a crime. He probably will have to cooperate with the feds in the prosecution of the members of the prostitution ring. Did Spitzer commit a violation of the Mann Act, 18 USC 2422?

Anonymous said...

TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 117 > § 2421Prev |


Whoever knowingly transports any individual in interstate or foreign commerce, or in any Territory or Possession of the United States, with intent that such individual engage in prostitution, or in any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.

Anonymous said...

3:11 -- Spitzer is speaking!
3:12 -- He violated his family!
3:12 -- He apologizes to his family!
3:12 -- He apologizes to the public!
3:14 -- WORST PRESS CONFERENCE EVER. He didn't resign here, but he did talk for a whole 35 or 40 seconds, and that he would be "reporting back" to us. Thanks, whoremonger.

Anonymous said...

Clinton? Are they also involved with the Prostitution Ring?YeeHaa!!!!!Hahahahahahah "BIG PIMPIN"\

DAMN! I'M HAVIN TO MUCH FUN WITH THIS CLOWN Spitzer

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Governor Spitzer will probably resign by week's end and be replaced by Lieutenant Governor Paterson, who will become New York's first African-American governor. Hopefully, he will remain for the forseeable future this country's highest elected black official.

Vana said...

Agustin:

You are a writer in your own right, your article very well written filled me with anger, anger at those clowns ruining Latin America, thank God at least in Uribe we have a righteous level headed man, who has every right to defend his country agaist those terrorists from the FARC, you should get your own blog my friend.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Anonymous:

I think a lot of politicians in the Empire State are none too steady on their feet right now and that may include either of the Clintons or both.

Fantomas said...

Hopefully, he will remain for the forseeable future this country's highest elected black official.

Lol, no te hagas el listin,no te hagas tu sabes bien lo que viene , ese que tu dices no sera de highest negrito elected in the US

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BA MOS CHICO DEJA ESO

Sharpshooter said...

Vana,
thanks for your compliments. I was so angry at the convoluted speeches of these pussilanimous and spineless presidents, I had to say something or explode in anger.
Argentina's president performance was so worthless, shameful and phony, it stank to high heaven. Michelle Bachelet should have known better but did not. It seems for her terrorists on the right are worthy of comdemnation but not those from the left.
All of them were cowards who ignored the collusion of Chavez and Correa with the FARC guerrillas, but indignantly accused Uribe just because Colombia wanted to exercsie the right to defend itself from this scourge and plague that has been killing innocent people for over 40 years. Shameful.
I don't have the time, the talent, nor the knowledge to comment daily on a blog like MAT does. It would be too time consuming and I have better things to do with my time. I leave that to MAT and others like him, with much more talent for words, (MAT by the way does a fabulous job of it), than make a fool of myself by opening a blog. Besides, it will rob me of the precious time I dedicate to my motorcycle travels with my wife. At my age I have beter things to do than to have to read the asenine comments of someone like the character Fantomas for example. There is not enough antiacids like Mylanta here for such stomach revulsion.

Vana said...

Agustin:

It's so obvious that your post at abacu was written in anger and frustation, for it made me angry too, you have talent my friend, don't waste it.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Anonymous:

Yes, any terrorist can "rock" Zapatero into concessions.

Sharpshooter said...

It seems "slimy" characters are not only present in the Republican Party judging by the latest scandal coming out of the Empire State. Although maybe he is not fat or is a redneck, the Governor is a good old member of the Democratic Party and had his share of sordid slimy affaires himself. He joins another Democratic Governor from the neighboring state of New Jersey, who also had his slimy affaire revealed and had to resigned just like the NY. Governor did today. It seem no party has a monopoly on slimy although this one is not a redneck, or fat, but is from the left wing of the Democartic Party which has many slimy characters among its crowd. President Clinton,anyone?
What is it with Democrats anyway, that so many of them seem have this proclivity for sex affaires when they hold public office?