Val Prieto is no longer Babalu's "editor-in-chief." He is now listed on its masthead as "Founding Editor." That title is usually accorded to the founder of a newspaper or magazine after he has retired, or, more commonly, expired.
It cannot be long before Val awards himself the title of "Augustus."
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209 comments:
1 – 200 of 209 Newer› Newest»Mat,
LOL, like an eagle above spotting prey on the desert floor. You can always be relied on to quickly spot the next dinner.
Val, it was only a matter of time before you had to turn in your Cuba's freedom fighter flag pin. As you have forever tarnished your "unearned" reputation when you outed KC.
Unfortunately, for your Cuban brethen it took that breath-taking act to expose you for what you are, i.e., chivato.
I, however, always suspected what you were long ago. In my years of blogging and living in Miami, i have discovered five types of Cubans:
1) communist
2) communist victims
3) those that want "true" democracy
4) those that make money off the system of communism
5) those that want to rewind Cuba to the Batista days, "quietly" rejecting democracy
You Val, made money from the communist system. In order for you to survive economically in one of Bush's most "purposeful" ravaged cities in America. It was always important for you that communism remained intact in Cuba.
In Bosnia, after the Dayton peace accords, my unit's most important job was to extinguish the communist blackmarket. Many Bosnians, who werent communist had become reliant on the communist blackmarket in order to feed their children.
You Val, and your friend Henry Gomez, to an experienced eye are communist profiteers. Nothing more, nothing less. Your websites are superficial fronts, that allow you to shake the jar to help you build swimming pools, and expensive kitchens.
That is why it is important for you to control thoughts and comments. Lest, you have experienced and toughtful commenters begin to question your true motives.
Val,
But you know what, i aint mad at you. As it has become quite clear that the Bush boys set out to destroy Miami. The real estate ponzi scheme, taxes, insurance, unchecked fraud, and allowing the Miami Cuban exile base to be overrun by other Latin immigrants. You Val, had to do what you had to do to survive.
Cuban-run Miami was purposefully destroyed by the Bush adminstration. The same Bush adminstration who have shifted tens of millions of anti-communist American tax dollars from the Cuban exiles to the "Europeans." Europeans that have no clue about Fidel, and worse Europeans that travel and spend tourist dollars with Fidel as we speak.
So Val, you have to do what you have to do. But my only request is that you dont place people in harm, in order to maintain your extravagant and posh lifestyle in Bush's bankrupt Miami!!
Founding editor?
What about founding father, great wizard, great helmsman or simply and modestly “führer”?
It reminds me somehow of Castro, when he relinquished his title of Commander in Chief to adopt that of Father of the Revolution, while he waits for Death.
Is Henry the Raul Castro of Val’s Fidel?
What arrogance, what chutzpah, a guy who treats his group of closest friends and co-writers as subordinates, what a pity, they accept it.
Back to my bagels, which resemble him. Crusty, and with a void in the center.
Mat Cada dia que pasa me doy cuenta que este impostor longjohn que escribe aqui no es mas nadie que una de las magpies disfrazada . It was so clear to spot it today. It took me a while to figure it out . Aunque siempre supe que habia gato encerrado. No wonder why the silent treatment
Mistery solved
Pobrecito Val, so misunderstood!
Are his chickens comming home to roost?
Val's self importance knows no bounds, funny as hell, too bad he takes himself so seriously, cause really Babalunia is a tragic comedy.
llego la hora del juguito MAt
Tenemos kool aid the piña hoy
saquen sus vacitos
tranquilo fanto, you are make me spill my drink!
me dijeron al oido que cabe la posibilidad que Hillary se quita antes de las primarias aqui en PR junio 1
imaginate eso ya nos hemos gastado 2.5 millones en imprimir las boletas etc, y ahora Hillary nos piensa hacer ese agravio
Kool aid con ella con el polvito magico adentro
vana said: too bad he takes himself so seriously,
No, what is so bad is that so many Cuban exiles take him so seriously.
fantomas,
Man i wish you would write in English, as i happen to agree with a lot of what you say in English.
nice try ljf
fanto, the race is over, hillary is wating for Obama to help her out with that 20mil she owes, that will buy alot KOOL AID.
bueno si se quita antes de junio 1 que pague lo que debe aqui en Puerto Rico ( 2.5 mill)
lol
JLF, i'm trying to get my head around your disklike for bush. is it the war?
Toma chocolate, paga lo que debes, they should play that song to Hillary..lol
Corgy can you find out for me if the primary here in PR is WINNER takes all or not?
we got 55 delegates to spare and 8 superdelegates
It was so easy to deviate from Mat's thread. Mira que se lo he dicho , MAt no cojas tanta lucha con otros CA bloggers, review somebody else. there are more than 400 CA blogs to review
pero el se empeña en lo mismo..parece que tiene una fijacion
Hasta cuando MAt? will it ever end?
Toma chocolate, paga lo que debes
i like that Vana
SI SE PUEDE FANTO, PR is proportional like the other states Read Here
I like this part
Clinton could end up doing very well in Puerto Rico but even that is far from certain. Sorry guys, but the "winner take all" Puerto Rican primary is a myth.
john,
what does MaT have to say or do to convince you he does not support Bush? Most people who comment here are not Bushies, but if you want to continue to rant about it . . . what can we do?
wow JLF, i don't like bush but man you take it to a new level.
So i take you will not be voting for mccain? since he seems like a continuation of bush.
bueno i got bettter things to do than estar sentado aqui toda la tarde
it is a beautiful day here
me voy para la playa
los veo por la noche portense bien
y no beban mucho jugo
"ms. calabaza:
I think Hillary has been cheated of the nomination. If the delegates from Florida and Michigan were seated and she were to win the remaining states and Puerto Rico (as seems likely), she would have both more delegates and a plurality of the popular vote."
MaT,
didn't she agree to this? What right does she have to change the rules now? Seems like her team ran a lousy campaign for her.
Fantomas,
make sure you take some sunscreen you look awfully pasty and bald. What flavor was the Kool-Aid today?
ms. calabaza,
Mat is an enabler. He knowingly and fasley diverts Bush's destruction of the Cuban exile community with silly claims such as, "Obama is a racist." A claim that even in Indiana we know better to believe.
Yet, Mat as a Bush enabler totally avoids the devestating effect upon the Cuban community by Bush. Such as the slashing in Cuban exile funds for a free Cuba, by George Bush & Co. Not to mention the dozens of Cuban exiles Bush has mercilessly and unfairly jailed. Numbers never seen before seen in American history.
Mat, and other Cuban-Americans stand idily by as "their" republican President destroys 40 plus years of Cuban's blood, sweet, and tears. Without so much as a word of protest.
No self-pride, self-respect, nor honor to call out this horrific man of a court-appointed President. And after seven years, there can be no doubt that George W. Bush has set back for generations, Cuba's push towards freedom, and the Cuban-American community as a whole. Both done with the tacit acceptance of the Cuban-American community via their stunning silence!!
What flavor was the Kool-Aid today?
tamarindo
jlf, i think you need to join fanto, kool-aide and sunshine, do you some good!
corgiguy,
"wow JLF, i don't like bush but man you take it to a new level. "
First, what specifically is a new level? Second, i am not a superficial thinker. It doesnt take deep thought to recognize that Bush "purposely" missed an opportunity to help push Cuba to freedom. Additionally, it is easy to see that Cuban-Americans are negligent in holding the Bush adminstration accountable. Rather than discuss this window of opportunity for freedom in Havana. They are intent on talking about pastors in Chicago. That is why "lately," i am beginning to sense the whole Cuban-American push towards Cuba's freedom, has been nothing more than a fraud prepretrated upon the non-Cubans in America. Which by the way, i didnt possess this belief up until recently.
"So i take you will not be voting for mccain? since he seems like a continuation of bush."
Well, unfortunately, regardless of Mat boasting, i do think that Mccain will follow Bush's State department disdain approach to Cuba, and her exiles. As many of the same men and women will remain in place. Which i suspect many may in fact be anti-Spanish. As our govenor, "Mitch Danials" was Bush's best friend. And is much worse than Tom Trancredo. And in fact, a very good friend of Tom Trancredo. In fact, there is a lot of talk about Mccain putting our Indiana govenor on his ticket as vice president.
But fortunately, i do not think Mccain will follow Bush's open immigration policy. So, i will be voting for Mccain for that single issue only.
corgiguy,
Instead of dismissing someone's argument as crazy, challenge it. If not, then just STFU!!
ms. calabaza asked:
" Not to mention the dozens of Cuban exiles Bush has mercilessly and unfairly jailed. Numbers never seen before seen in American history."
john,
what are you talking about??
5/10/2008 1:31 PM
Sad, you know that Obama has a racist preacher. But you dont know that Bush has been targeting Cuban exiles.
Trust me, Mat knows. But Mat doesnt want to discuss the horrific amount of damage that this republican adminstration has wrought upon the Cuban exile community.
That type of message wouldnt fit in well, with his republican themes!!
Ms.Calabaza, next time you see Mat. Ask him to do the Cuban-themed blogisphere a favor. And post about the Bush adminstration arrest and prosecution of Cuban exiles over the last several years.
After Mat confirms his knowledge of said arrest and prosecutions. Then ask him, why he never devoted one, single solidary post to these damaging round-ups!! At least the ones that we know of!!
john,
I've never seen MaT. I imagine him as the Wizard in the Oz movie . . . but, I will ask him publicly if what you are stating is true because I must confess I'm ignorant to any of this. . .
I have a question for you though, why would an Anglo from Indiana with a "racist Republican family" - (your words, not mine)and an inmense disdain for Cuban Americans know this info and why would you care? Are you really from Indiana John or are you really another Cuban from Hialeah or Kendall?
jlf, you come accross as someone full of angst, grievances, attacks and stereotypes. How can i reason with you?
by the way mccain, was one of the sponsors of the comprehensive immigration reform bill, that didn't win him any praises in your red state world.
ms.calabaza,
First, when i said, "next time you see Mat," meant the next time you see him in RCAB. Jeeez
Second, i learned of communism through my service in the military. When i came back from Bosnia, i took an immediate interst in Cuba. A communist nation that was on my doorsetep.
My interest of a communist-free Cuba, also extends to others who are or "pretend" to share my interest in a free Cuba.
Now, i have a question for you. Do you believe that you have to be a Cuban and live in Hialeah to be concerned about communism?
Because i got news for you, the good ole boys up here in Indiana have sacrificed more in blood fighting communist, then the Cubans in Hialeah and Kendall. Who seem to be more interested in expensive kitchens, then actually serving against communist.
corigiguy,
It is not attacks. I just dont fall for the Cuban exile victimhood. I call it like i see it. If they deserve praise, then i give it, if they deserve a boot in the ass, then they get that too.
Mccain was a sponsor of the immigration bill. And that is why the base was not behind him. But he learned his lesson, and now he will start making America for Americans!!!!!
"Now, i have a question for you. Do you believe that you have to be a Cuban and live in Hialeah to be concerned about communism?"
Not at all, and I respect any good old boy who fights communism.
ms. calabaza,
Nearly all good ole boys in Indiana dont like communist. Nor do we like those who are negligent in the efforts to rid the world of communist, i.e., George W. Bush. And, "personally" i do not like those who make excuses for those who seek to undo efforts that were made to free Cuba of its communist infestation!!
val prieto=chivato
jlf, you said mccain learned a lesson what lesson was that? sounds like flip flopping and pandering to me.
you know i use to like mccain when he was the maverick, the straighttalk express.
but today's mccain is just bush on steroids and i find it peculiar that you don't see a difference between them.
jlf, says AMERICA for AMERICANS and what is your definition of an AMERICAN?
corgiguy,
1) Yes, he flip-flopped on immigration. But he had no choice unless he wants our votes in Indiana.
2) America for Americans means that if you dont embrace the ideas of America, then you dont belong here. That means:
1) Speaking English
2) Flying the American flag
3) Not sneaking into America
Just a few examples.
val prieto=chivato
jlf, and what would you do with the 12 million undocumented aliens that live in america? and what about those businesses that hire the undocumented would you go after the business owners?
corgiguy,
We do in America, what we do with the Spanish immigrants in Indiana. We ship the Spanish immigrants back to where to the nation snuck in from. And we imprison the traitors that hire them!!
John:
I must once again reiterate what everybody here except you knows already, to wit, that I have never shilled for Bush or the Republicans but taken him and them to task time and time again over the "Wet Foot/Dry Foot" policy (which is what I think you mean by Bush "arresting" Cubans); the gutting of the embargo; and allowing the Republican Party to be hijacked by xenophobes like Gingrich and Tancredo.
I think, however, that you are constitutionally incapable of seeing a Cuban exile as anything but and apologist for and ebabler of Bush. There are certainly those and more than a few (including most of the Babalunians); but at RCAB I can assure you, and you should have realized already, no one holds a brief for George Bush.
Perhaps it is that you consider all Cubans (whether they supported Bush in 2000 or not) as responsible for his election in what amounts to some sort of blood libel.
It makes no difference to me that Barack Obama is a Democrat. I could (and did) once support LBJ, the last principled liberal. What I find objectionable about Obama is that he has no understanding whatever of the nature of the Castro dictatorship. You, John, know more about it than does Obama. If that is not enough to clinch the case against Obama, I don't know what will.
so, is raul on top at Bubble-Lou now?
jlf, mass deportations and imprisonment of traitors, that sounds like a fascist state you want to live on.
What I find objectionable about Obama is that he has no understanding whatever of the nature of the Castro dictatorship
Mat ningun presidente Norteamericano has had any understanding regarding the " nature" of the Castro dictatorship, not even RONALD
noone:
Let's see:
Val is now the "Founding Editor."
Which ordinarily means that an editor has been cashiered.
No new "editor-in-chief" has been announced, however.
The other de facto "editors" at Babalú are even denied the title of "editor" but identified as "contributing writers."
Which begs the question:
When Val was "editor-in-chief," who was he the chief of if there were no other editors?
And if he was the chief of the contributing writers, shouldn't he have been the "writer-in-chief?"
fantomas:
As you know, I have on more than one occasion pointed out that Ronald Reagan did absolutely nothing for the cause of Cuban freedom except mumble platitudes more convincingly than his predecessors or successors.
corgiguy,
I can only tell you what the thinking is up here in Indiana.
And that is a facist state is what may be needed in these most dire of times in America. When we witness, to America's horror entire states like California, Florida, Arizona, and now Texas invaded by Spanish-speaking immigrants. Then, as the saying goes up here in Indiana. We can think of no other way to reclaim our once great states, other than the declaration of martial law. And the deportation of anything that speaks Spanish, or that has a Spanish first or last name.
At least this is what the thinking is up here in red state Indiana!!
mat, don't your think val has the right to run his blog whatever way he likes?
jlf, man you know starting to sound like you advocate ethnic cleansing
mat, don't your think val has the right to run his blog whatever way he likes?
Corgy I run mine at will como me de la gana con booby traps, bombs y trampas when trying to get out, preguntale a MAt
mat,
I will come back with the Bush adminstration arrest and prosecution of "prominent" Cuban exile. As it does not surprise me that you are unaware of Bush's presecution of said exiles. This you have a slanted precoccupation of enemies on the left, and a negligence of enemies in your living room, i.e., the bush adminstration!!
corgiguy,
Ethnic cleansing is your word. Up here in red-state Indiana, they call it deportation. Whatever you want to call it, it would involve removing what is deemed the undesirables i.e., Spanish speaking immigrants. At least that is what our "republican" Governor Mitch Danials calls it.
rin tin tin,
Honestly, i dont know enough about Podesda to render a judgment. If Podesda did indeed blow up a plane full of innocent Cubans, then yes he is a terrorist. If the plane was full of communist then i think he isnt.
But like i said, i dont know enough to render judgment. As writers tend to spin him in one way or another.
But i will read up, and tell you what i think in a bit!!
jlf, you don't need to explain it to me i got the picture of your red state. I'm sure glad i live in the blue republic california.
While no US President has translated a thorough and correct understanding of the nature of the Castro regime into effective action to destabilize or dislodge it, I thought there was a glimmer of hope back in 2002 when Bush's then-henchman John Bolton spoke publicly about a potential bio-weapons program in Cuba:
http://www.state.gov/t/us/rm/9962.htm
Obviously the Cuba-situation wasn't important enough to this administration to compel them to take action, but one conceivably could have hoped for a massive campaign to legitimize and "prove" Bolton's claim, which could have served as the pretense for an invasion.
In fact, this may still be the most realistic (of the unrealistic) hopes that Cubans have of being freed from the yoke of tyranny with the help of the United States. A Chalabi-like intelligence source being run either by an exile group or from within some faction of the administration that wanted to overthrow Castro (how do you say "Curveball" in Spanish?) could have, over the course of 6 months or so, provided bogus but corroborating evidence to support the bio-weapons charge.
While obviously no plan would ever have been that simple, and you'd have had to deal with the Castro-apologists arguing that there was no weapons program, I honestly thought that was the best chance in recent years for there to be some real action by the US against Castro. Oh well, hope springs eternal.
Mat, i am not talking about Bush arresting and prosecuting Cubans that are caught up in the wet foot/dry foot policy. (AND YOU KNOW THAT) I am talking about Bush arresting brave and heroric Cuban-exile freedom fighters throughout America, like the Cuban exile below!! A Cuban exile, that i would proudly shake the hand of!!
I posted this one, but their are dozens of others that Bush's Justice Department has mercilessly targeted!!
Santiago Alvarez, a longtime anti-Castro activist and key supporter of exile militant Luis Posada Carriles, was arrested in Miami this weekend on federal weapons and passport charges -- a move that could cause a clash between the Bush administration and some members of one of the president's most loyal political constituencies.
Alvarez, a wealthy developer, is charged with possession of automatic weapons, including some with the serial numbers obliterated; a silencer not properly registered; and a false passport, Matthew Dates, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Miami, said Sunday evening.
Some Cuban-American activists criticized the arrest as an attempt to appease Fidel Castro at a time when the Cuban president is stepping up his rhetoric against Posada and his associates.
Now, Alvarez's arrest could raise the political stakes by pitting the Bush administration against some segments of the exile community, which has strongly supported the president.
Federal agents arrested Alvarez at his Belle Meade home about 1 a.m. Saturday, just hours after executing a search warrant in his Hialeah office, said Kendall Coffey, Alvarez's lawyer
john, what is your vision for cuba in the next 20 years? what is your opinion. what will happen?
Also, should the embargo be lifted?
Lastly, who wins Obama or Mc Cain?
Honestly, i dont know enough about Podesda to render a judgment
john you seem to know more than what you are telling us. You know the obscure figure of Santiango alvarez and you claim to know little about Podesda
Nuff Said
Here you go Mat, the Bush adminstration even made sure that this Cuban exile hero was tried in Ft.Lauderdale, rather than Miami!! And you want to hollar about some silly ass pastor in Chicago.
Tell you what Mat, how about talking about the bigots in the Bush adminstration. You know the same anti-Cuban bigots, that are hauling these Cuban exiles out of Miami to try them in anti-Cuban cities. You know the same bigots that shifted millions of dollars out of the hands of the Cuban exile community to Fidel-friendly European nations. You know the same anti-Cuban bigots that "purposely" wrecked Miami for years to come.
Oh, i forgot, you want to talk about a retired Chicago pastor. Rather, then the horrific bigots that are currently working to destroy the Cuban-exile community!!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/10/AR2006091001085.html
I'm a model citizen
I paint and spend the hours reading and gardening
I want to see Cuba Free
Mat,
All i am saying is that Cuba's freedom means holding both political parties accountable. One has to remain true to the cause, regardless of their political affiliation. The Bush adminstration is in the process of wrecking the Cuban exile community before they leave office.
You said, "i should be scared of Obama's future Cuba's policy. Sorry dude, i cant. As i dont think Bush is going to leave the next President much to work with.
As this is Bush's intent!!
INVADE BURMA? Invade Havana?
Has it come to this? Do we Really need a Big Hurricane in Cuba of epic proportions to end the 50 year old regime? How many lives will it take before Bush sends in the Marines to habana this summer
Agustin Fariñas will love me more for this
The disaster in Burma presents the world with perhaps its most serious humanitarian crisis since the 2004 Asian tsunami. By most reliable estimates, close to 100,000 people are dead. Delays in delivering relief to the victims, the inaccessibility of the stricken areas and the poor state of Burma's infrastructure and health systems mean that number is sure to rise. With as many as 1 million people still at risk, it is conceivable that the death toll will, within days, approach that of the entire number of civilians killed in the genocide in Darfur.
...
So what is the world doing about it? Not much. The military regime that runs Burma initially signaled it would accept outside relief, but has imposed so many conditions on those who would actually deliver it that barely a trickle has made it through. Aid workers have been held at airports. U.N. food shipments have been seized. U.S. naval ships packed with food and medicine idle in the Gulf of Thailand, waiting for an all-clear that may never come.
Burma's rulers have relented slightly, agreeing Friday to let in supplies and perhaps even some foreign relief workers. The government says it will allow a US C-130 transport plane to land inside Burma Monday. But it's hard to imagine a regime this insular and paranoid accepting robust aid from the U.S. military, let alone agreeing to the presence of U.S. Marines on Burmese soil — as Thailand and Indonesia did after the tsunami. The trouble is that the Burmese haven't shown the ability or willingness to deploy the kind of assets needed to deal with a calamity of this scale — and the longer Burma resists offers of help, the more likely it is that the disaster will devolve beyond anyone's control. "We're in 2008, not 1908," says Jan Egeland, the former U.N. emergency relief coordinator. "A lot is at stake here. If we let them get away with murder we may set a very dangerous precedent."
That's why it's time to consider a more serious option: invading Burma. Some observers, including former USAID director Andrew Natsios, have called on the U.S. to unilaterally begin air drops to the Burmese people regardless of what the junta says
Mat embrace yourself for another 200 plus comments post only if you leave it on top until monday
rin tin,
I knew about the Cuban exiles being transfered up to Ft.Lauderdale, because i "worked" up there.
And no, i dont know much about Posdesda, other than blowing up a plane. The few things that i have read about him. I always thought that there has to be more to this story then him blowing up an plane. I guess you can call it, giving him the benefit of the doubt.
But i am glad that you have doubt about me. As it means that i am more knowledeable about Cuba, then many Cubans. Which isnt saying much. Cite: Henry Gomez
Hi Henry :)
yes, it is time to invade
Hi, lj
Kill Castro= chivato
anon said: john, what is your vision for cuba in the next 20 years? what is your opinion. what will happen?
Also, should the embargo be lifted?
Lastly, who wins Obama or Mc Cain?
Answer #1
Yes, lift the embargo. In Bosnia, the first thing the Serbs did was seize the Muslims arms, radios, food etc, etc,. They then surrounded Sarajevo, and cut all power off, thinking this would starve them out. What Clinton did, was arm them via one tunnel, which one the only way in or out of Sarajevo. This allowed the resistance group to grow stronger, and fight back against the superior Serb communist force. Clinton also had an air blockade over the Balkans. That is how Capt. Scott O'grady f16 got shot down. That air blockade allowed the Muslims to basically go rifle to rifle, and start beating the Serbs back into Belgrade.
Answer #2
Unlike Mat, i think Cuba's next 20 years will be like the last 40 years. Anti-spanish bigots now control the republican party. Anti-spanish campaigns is how many came to power, and that is how they will retain the power. The last thing an anti-spanish party like the republican party wants to see is hundreds of thousands of Spanish-speaking immigrants flooding into Miami to reunite with their families. Hence, the reason why Bush is obilerating the Cuban-exile community i.e., arresting and the stripping of millions of dollars.
Answer 3
Who wins Obama or Mccain? Up until my primary a few day ago in Indiana. I was certain that Mccain would win. But now, i am not so sure. Mat, and the anti-Spanish republicans are going to have to run hard on anti-spanish immigrant sentiments in this nation. They will have to do an us vs them. And it wont be an black vs white thing. It will have to be american vs. spanish, hence american vs. spanish (and their liberal supporters.) Because the Obama is a racist stupid shit didnt work in this red state of Indiana. Having said that, if this nation keeps in decline, i.e., gas prices. Then i think America will say we need the "smartest" man in the room to fix this nation. And Mccain aint it!!
John:
This should come as no surprise to you: RCAB has always defended Luís Posada Carriles against his enemies, which are also the enemies of the Cuban people. When the U.S. joined the lynch mob I also attacked Bush and the Justice Department for prosecuting allies of the U.S. while failing to indict its enemies.
I may add also that RCAB holds the honorable distinction of having been the only Cuban-themed blog to lend its full support to this Cuban patriot without apologies or equivocation of any kind. The others were conspicuous for their silence, and if they spoke at all, it was only after Posada Carriles had been acquitted yet again.
Mat is Posadas a hero or a terrorist?
Just a simple answer : maximun two words
Hey Henry and Val,
I know you two admire me. You could never beat me on the battlefield of thoughts and ideas. So you have to cover your face up in shame, like some Iranian Muslim.
I always told you two, that i would learn you. And the fact that you two cant even show you face, speaks to the fullfillment of my promise!!
Cheers cowards,
John are you gay?
mat,
That is fine and dandy. But what about Bush transferring Cuban exiles to be presecuted in anti-Cuban cities?
Do you consider that anti-Cuban on behalf of the Bush adminstration?
Mat,
82 comments on the topic of Val Prieto, and you just knew they would come in with homosexual chatter!!
val prieto=chivato
manny,
you are giving way too much credit to fat-ass Val. He has no idea what editor in chief means. He just thught founding editor sounded better (Emilio Estefan told him so). Pretty soon it will be founding editor, editor in chief, publisher and el jefe of Bubloo.
val prieto=self-loathing Cuban
anonymous:
Posada Carriles is one of the greatest heroes of the 20th century. That's more than two words, but I am sure it suits your purposes.
john said:
"When we witness, to America's horror entire states like California, Florida, Arizona, and now Texas invaded by Spanish-speaking immigrants."
We are not invading- we are taking them back.
Pancho Villa:
Taking it back without firing one shot. Of course this would be impossible if non-Hispanic whites had not stopped reproducing of their own volition in this country.
an illegal immigrant in need of immediate deportion said: We are not invading- we are taking them back.
Oh really, how about taking back Cuba first?
val prieto=chivato
Iam back we are almost half way to 200 comments Mat , way to go man, please keep it interesting and do not open a new thread until monday . hazme caso you are still 3978 comments behind Yoani's Guinnes Record for one post
We need more people to keep commenting ..a cadre of them
lol
dejame ver si te consigo par de amigos
kill castro= chivato
Mat who will race better tonite
Kyle Bush or Dennis Hamlin?
Mat estas?
where's the KoolAid fanto?
john:
Demographics is destiny.
Or, from your perspective, doom.
val prieto sells out his own countrymen for the American dollar
jlf said: "an illegal immigrant in need of immediate deportion"
wrong-
and john, we wont stop in TX-soon we'll be knocking on your door.
jlf said:
"Oh really, how about taking back Cuba first?"
first/second/third the order is not important- but yes john we will ALSO take Cuba back form the USA
oh
my
god
Iam comments 101 or 102
unbelievable
se acabo el kool aid por hoy
lo que queda es limonada y champola
fanto
why don't you go to babaluland and post - mat does not need comments-
or work on your "blog".
i think pancho villa is determined to invade indiana. where's maccain?
i do all 3 at once
in my world it is called multitasking a la fantomas
any problem with that?
fantomas:
As many comments as the post will bear but do not veer too far from the subject. The subject, as always, is Cuba.
I visited your blog again and found it a less catastrophic experience. The changes that you instituted have made it easier to navigate your blog, which was all but impossible before. Now one can actually pull free of its force field and is not trapped there until one's computer mercifully crashes.
corgiguy,
Rest assure, there will be no invasion of Spanish speaking immigrants in Indiana!! We dont tolerate hablo espanola up here. We know exactly how to handle them up here.
wow Mat you have made my day
I have been endorsed by the great Tellechea
thanks man
viste I listen to my customers ..el cliente siempre tiene la razon
No sale is ever Final
jlf, si se puede, pancho is determined, you better build that fence fast
Mat fantomas is the heart and soul of your blog
Keep him handy always
handy pero encadenado
mat viste la encuesta que puse en mi blog
So far fidel is winning ampliamente 51-a 8
did you vote?
jlf said:
"Rest assure, there will be no invasion of Spanish speaking immigrants in Indiana!"
Knock knock knock !
who is going to stop us ? Mccain ?
ha ha ha .....
pancho,
Back off, back waaaay off!!
this is a big, pancho vs john the battle for indiana, someone call hannity and geraldo
john: very soon spanish will be the primary language spoken in indiana. how about a new name for you-
I suggest--- juanito longanisa
juanito longaniza lol
damn john no tacos and salsa, what you guys eat there?
corgiguy,
We eat American food, and so do Spanish immigrants. You should come up to Indiana. I would show you the all the sites that Indiana has to offer.
If you pay attention, you may eventually learn American culture and customs. Who knows if you stayed long enough in Indiana, you might well be considered a regular American.
back from Craker Barrel- had a 1/2 pound bacon cheese burger. so good.
Juanito u still around ?
john what makes you think i'm not familiar with american culture and customs? wow my american dream, to be considered a regular american.
john:
so you renecks don't like tacos, salsa, latin music.... you forgot to mention dentists... lol....
"Trust me, Spanish immigrants know better to bring their culture up here. They assimilate, just like you would. No more hablo espanolia, no more latin flags, no more latin music, no more salsa, no more tacos. American culture only in Indiana!!"
Pheww!! Good thing it's only your Republican relatives that are racist!
cracker barrel? I could construe that as racial reverse discrimination!!
ms.calabaza,
Yes, i agree it is a good thing that only my family is racist. As i have talked to them many times about their racial beliefs!!
corgiguy,
Being familiar with American customs is different than assimilating. Do you wear an American flag pin?
fantomas:
Ok, if you want to interpret "I visited your blog again [today] and found it a less catastrophic experience" as some kind of endorsement, so be it.
As for your Batista vs. Castro poll, it merely shows that readers of your blog are pro-Fidel rather than pro-Batista by a margin of 6:1.
To me this says that they are more afraid of Batista rising from the grave than they are anxious for Fidel to fall into the grave.
You have very strange readers, but, of course, we would expect you to: The blog is the man.
All the Indiana girls want black or latino guys. I wonder why that is? Any answers, John "Longfellow?"
As for your Batista vs. Castro poll, it merely shows that readers of your blog are pro-Fidel rather than pro-Batista by a margin of 6:1
.wrong , wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong
do you understand spanish?
translation
who was worse in cuba's history
fidel or batista
if you pick fidel which is the mayority that means you are saying fidel was worse as leader
whats wrong with that
anon,
Actually, that is quite true, and no i dont know why that is. But i do know that if a black or latin guy is walking arm and arm with a white girl in Indiana. That there can be get their butts kicked if they arent that tough!!
val prieto=chivato
john:
craker barrel is a family restaurant. good country cooking. nothing racial about it. look it up.
"it is a good thing that only my family is racist"
john that could be lots of people.. aren't all you folks related ?
kill castro= nark
fantomas:
Your poll question was phrased in such a way as to make it meaningless or worse than meaningless. You might as well have asked, "Which was worse, Hitler or Stalin?" Both, of course, are so very bad that choosing one or the other is a distinction without a difference.
My mind which, unlike yours, is logical and just, cannot fanthom comparing Batista and Castro in such a manner.
It is clear to me by the phrasing of your question that you think there is no difference between the two.
You are, of course, very wrong.
no mat you are wrong but hey this is your blog , the blog is the man , the man is the blog, you know
Mat the people that voted understood clearly the meaning of my poll question question
of course both were bad
of course both are cubans
of course they were dictators
one had to be worse than the other, right?
that is the meaning of the question , no big deal
do you like pepsi or coke?
lol
i got you old man
por fantomas todo contra fantomas nada ni nadie
so fanto why did you pick Batista ?
I did not know him ..i voted for el que me hacia comer chicharos con gorgojos en la Vocacional
jlf, do i wear a flag pin. wtf, i thought this a free country.
let's see to live in your red state i have to change my name, stop speaking spanish, salute the flag, tag a flag on my lapel, stop eating tacos, stop listening to latin music. do i need to listen to country music? You are an absurd individual jlf.
pancho where are you please save us!
anonimo 10.51 pm
hey dont become stupid on me now
lol
"anonimo 10.51 pm
hey dont become stupid on me now"
fanto u be sneaky very sneaky....
john,
do they have Italian and Chinese or Polish Sausages and Pierogies where you live? . . . or do you live on Cheeze-wiz and Wonder bread?
fanto u be sneaky very sneaky....
Ask MAt?
fantomas : the man of a few names and several nicks and a couple of hundred faces and just one ip address
never trust a fantomas , never
hey come gorgojos what part of Cuba are you from ? u don't "sound" havanero or oriental....
Camaguey ? Matanzas ?
u be an add dude..
come gorgojos?
lol
me caigo de la silla de la risa
good one
hey come gorgojos what part of Cuba are you from ?
iam going to send you a fruits basket
mamoncillos, mangos de biscochuelo, papaya y despues te voy a dar con la cutara por bocon
figure the city now?
Mat llego la hora del juguito de la noche otra vez?
De que sabor lo quieres...
mat no te preocupes por los off comments si vas al blog de yoanis te daras cuenta que un post que tenga 3598 comentarios mas de la mitad de ellos son boberias y estupideces...como quiera cuentan asi que sigue tratando qu te falta bastante por alcanzarla
let's see:
cutara , papaya -- Santiago de Cuba
I did not get the mangos con biscocho part.
fantomas you are my hero
biscochuelos
los mejores mangos de cuba
El Caney
fantom:
so, are you related to El Negrito de EL Caney ?
SANTIAGO DE CUBA, junio (www.cubanet.org) - La cosecha de mangos está a punto de perderse. Las provincias orientales, principales productoras de la deliciosa fruta, este año se encuentran inmersas en una gran cosecha. Sin embargo, el problema de otros años se repite: la falta de envases (cajas) y su adecuada recolección y pronta transportación. Este año es peor, la ausencia total de cajas ponen en peligro el producto, con el consiguiente perjuicio para sus productores.
La falta de las cajas necesarias para envasar los mangos, ponen en peligro el trabajo de los productores privados, los únicos que existen prácticamente en la región oriental, pues los mangales del estado han desaparecido por diferentes razones: tala indiscrimada, sustitución por otros cultivos, y hasta incluso se han utilizado las matas de mango como combustible durante el "período especial".
Los dueños de finca comentan que de continuar esta situación prefieren convertir las plantaciones de mangos en materia prima para fabricar carbón, ya que su comercialización es más fácil. De concretarse esa idea sería un desastre para el futuro de la industria cubana del mango, porque son plantas con muchos años de existencia y su recuperación sería un proceso que demoraría varios años, perdiéndose una gran posibilidad de mercado, principalmente hacia los Estados Unidos, cuando se restaure la libre empresa en Cuba.
La pérdida de la cosecha de mangos no sólo perjudicará a sus productores, sino a los cubanos, principalmente a los niños, ya que no se podrá obtener la pulpa necesaria para la fabricación de compotas, que forma parte de la ya restringida dieta infantil.
Consultado sobre el tema, Antonio Alonso, director general del Proyecto de Desarrollo Cívico Rural, expresa: "No existe voluntad política para resolver el problema, que no sólo afecta a la producción de mangos, sino a toda la producción agropecuaria. El pasado 9 de mayo se publicó un artículo en el periódico Granma donde se reconoce que en 2006, por concepto de leche ácida se perdieron en Cuba más de 14 millones de litros.
La calidad del mango cubano es altamente reconocida. El bizcochuelo es una variedad ideal para enlatar, y otras, como la conocida como "mango corazón", por su alto contenido de yodo, son esenciales para la producción de mermelada. El mango mamey, con una gran cantidad de pulpa, es indispensable en la fabricación de las compotas.
La estrategia económica del gobierno es incomprensible. No compran mango a los productores cubanos, sino que lo importan de la República Dominicana y Haití, pagándolos en dólares. Si a esos precios en dólares o su equivalente en moneda nacional se les pagara el mango a los productores cubanos y se les permitiera su libre comercialización, no se perdería una sola fruta. Pero ya no podemos apelar ni siquiera a aquel eslogan que se hizo famoso por los años 60: "Dice Nikita Khrushchev, que se dejen de fandango y que vayan comiendo mangos hasta que llegue el arroz".
fantom:
so, are you related to El Negrito de EL Caney ?
oye deja el relajito ya
so, are you related to El Negrito de EL Caney ?
cogele miedo al negrito de hawaii
Ese negrito hawaiñano va a ser duro de roer
preguntale a mat , mat se lo tendra que chupar hasta el 1017
2017
Hillary Clinton's superdelegate lead over Barack Obama was narrowed even more over the weekend, according to CNN's latest delegate estimate. Obama closed to within one superdelegate of Clinton, picking up the support of four party leaders after a flurry of new endorsements over the past two days
por que ? we have the blog to ourselves..... las urracas duermen, john is loading his shotgun (waiting for our invasion ) and mat is hooked to his ventilator.
let see if we can take it to 200
bebo el santero said...
coño bebo esa te quedo bien
deja a las magpies tranquilas que despues se alborotan y le tendre que dar del kool aid de zambuca que tengo por ahi
bueno esto se puso aburrido no queda nadie en el circo solo el santero y yo asi que tomare un break de 1 hora me voy a comer algo un hamburguer con queso suizo y tres taquitos de carne de iguana
asi que regreso en una hora a ver si se despierta alguien
lo de 200 es un hecho, mañana llegamos a 300
Record mundial de mat y eso hay que celebrarlo somehow
c u later fantomon buen apetito..
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D90J1N900&show_article=1
mat este video es para ti
ya que no entendistes mi encuesta en mi blog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PAjnkJPL0U
lol
Sinopsis
El heroe de los ladrones, Fantomas, ha descubierto una sustancia capaz de hacer que la piel de la cara se amorde como el quiera
Información Técnica
Color / 108 minutos / Frances con subtitulos en español
Formato: DVD Año: 1962 País: FRANCIA Género: COMEDIA
Director: CYRIL GRIZE
Actores: Louis de Funes, Jean Marais, Mylene Demongeot
fantomas:
Now you are saying that a comparison of Batista and Fidel is like a comparison of Coke and Pepsi, which are essentially the same thing (melado flojo). If you had said Coke and cough syrup, you might have left yourself some wiggling room. But, again, you imply by the phrasing of your question that there is no difference between the two.
Remember that when Castro came to power there were no unmarked graves with Batista's victims to be found. When the national nightmare that has been these last 49 years is finally over, how many tens even hundreds of thousands of graves will be found with Fidel's victims?
No, fantomas, there is no comparison between Batista and Castro. Anyone who would make such a comparison understands nothing of what has transpired in Cuba in the last half-century.
You mentioned the ruin of the mango crop in Cuba this year (as every year since 1959). That, of course, is bad, very bad. Batista's Cuba was literally littered with mangos and the prospect that there would one day be no mangos in Cuba was inconceivable. But something else was different, too. In Batista's Cuba, young boys pilfering mangos were not shot dead by milicianos for "theft of state property." Human life, before Castro, was valued above a mango.
So, no, fantomas, you can't compare apples and oranges; or, this case, mangos to no mangos.
Mat,
Wow Mat, it almost seems as are defending Batista. A dictatorship is a dictarship, it stifles individual freedoms, i.e., freedom of movement, press, speech, ideas, assembly. It seems as if you are arguing degrees of violence!!
John:
Only someone who has never lived under a dictatorship would think that all dictatorships are alike. They are not. Some are only a nuissance; some are an unwanted imposition; and some, very few, thankfully, are an affront to the dignity of man.
So Mat, are you saying that Batista was a tolerable "dictator?"
Yes, Mat please be thoughtful. Because American soldiers have removed all sorts of dictators from throughout the world, regardless of their level of violence. Because "all" dictators are anti-democratic in some form. And i am certain that you are not anti-democratic!!
Chavez= Batista la misma mierda
Mat quizas , quizas si batista nunca hubiese llegado al poder , fidel castro nunca hubiese nacido
el mango es mango y el orange es orange no te me confundas
te dije que no pusieras another post si querias llegar a 300 y no me hicistes caso
5/11/2008 11:18 AM
Tellechea is For Batista and Posada
god forbid us... Menos mal que personas como esas no tendran cabida en la cuba del futuro
No, no, no, señor
Batista=dictator
Dictator=anti-democracy
nuff said,
john what do you know about Batista if you were in the hoosier state pickin up the corn
John:
Just as no two democracies are alike, no two dictatorships are alike. Some democracies are more like dictatorships than democracies, and some dictatorships are more democratic than some democracies.
ahora tengo un impostor cubano americano de NJ
Just as no two democracies are alike, no two dictatorships are alike. Some democracies are more like dictatorships than democracies, and some dictatorships are more democratic than some democracies.
Mat what is Venezuela
a democracy or a dictatorship?
Mat,
In Bosnia, the communist Serbs made the very same arguments about Milosevic. Mat, I must say that i am beyond disappointed by your defense of any represseive dictator. I thought we at least shared the same ill will towards all types of anti-democratic people. Whether they be merely citizens or the dictators that deny "all" of them the basic god-given human rights!!
Pirulo, asked a very good question. As your defense of Batista can also apply to the Chavez!!
Shame on you Mat!!
P.S.
I look forward to an honest explanation of your defense of anti-democratic dictatorships. As you may have lost a lot of credibility here this morning!!
Mat lost his credibility when he named this blog
Mat Happy mother's Day
kill castro= chivato
val prieto= chivato
fantomas = sneaky serpent
fantomas:
Did you know that Posada Carriles fought against Batista before taking up the fight against Castro?
I guess that must raise him in your esteem; the fact that he fought against Batista, that is.
Hey John L. aka LD I truly appreciate your consistence in remind the people my "outing" and the despicable KaSStro wanna be who did it , but man do us a favor , stop with the Cuban/American blanket statements.
As a Republican since I heard my first USA election on a tiny (and shitty) portable radio (Nixon won, and I STILL think Nixon just got a raw deal, specially when you see that TV speech telling the world , WAR is over!) I can assure you that EVERY SINGLE
Commendation, citation or any one of about 50 “THE RNC LOVES YOU” suitable for framing certificates that were covering my walls, have come the fuck off.
Oh I still get my LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP CARD from the “party” and it goes straight into my shredder. The only things I have kept are all the Xmas cards from Reagan and the invite to Bush’s inauguration (because I figure it will come handy at a floundering party)
I personally do not know ONE single Cuban/American who will not take a shit on Bush’s face if they got the opportunity, this include the more illuminated Cuban/Americans in Miami, the ones who are not looking to occupy any paper tiger positions in their made up empires so that mommy and daddy can brag about their son’s inherited patriotism (as fucked up skewed and self serving as it may be)
Even on the non-Cuban front, Bush’s idiotic, suicidal and arrogant political decisions. His virtual destruction of the USA economy and his participation in fulfilling Kruschev’s pledge that “they will bury us” (see the VICTORY DAY PARADE IN MOSCOW? scary shit !) is enough to condemn this idiot to hang by his neck till his boots fall off his fleshless feet.
So before you accuse Cuban/Americans of being Bushites , do some home work will ya?
Forty Guyaberas hanging out at Versailles playing dominoes and drinking el cafesito does NOT a refugee group make.
Thanks
john:
There are dictators who step on your toe and dictators who lop off your head.
And still you see no difference?
Maybe if you had actually known both types you would know the difference.
Sundry Aliases of Fantomas:
I have said this many times before and will repeat it now: I would have preferred 1000 years of Batista to a single day of Fidel. One thousand years would not have sufficed for Batista to destroy Cuba; one day would have been enough for Castro.
mat,
Dictator: In modern usage, the term "dictator" is generally used to describe a leader who holds and/or abuses an extraordinary amount of personal power, especially the power to make laws without effective restraint by a legislative assembly. Dictatorships are often characterized by some of the following traits: suspension of elections and of civil liberties; proclamation of a state of emergency; rule by decree; repression of political opponents without abiding by rule of law procedures; single-party state, cult of personality, etc.
Mat, your embrace of any dictator, whether violent or non-violent, is anti-democratic. And to argue otherwise, is to insult your readers who embrace democracy.
Dont insult your reader base with pro-dictatorship dialogue. You are absolutely in the wrong nation for that, especially in these times!!
John:
The Weimar Republic was a perfect democracy when the Nazis won the elections of 1933 and Hitler assumed the chancellorship of Germany.
Mat,
I get it man. Dictatorships are ok with you, as long as you are within the ruling elite. Therefore, if you were in the ruling elite of Chavez's reigme, you would be a supporter!!
You probably would have been better off keeping your support of dictators to yourself.
Nevertheless, there is "democracy" in America, and you are well within your right to express your support of dictators such as Batista. And by your twisted logic, the implied support of Hugo Chavez.
John:
Every political system is the work of man and hence as just or unjust as man himself. Democracy facilitated the rise of Adolph Hitler; democracy facilitated the rise of Hugo Chávez; and democracy will facilitate the rise of Barack Obama -- let us hope, in a descending scale of evil.
I judge a man -- even a politician -- by his acts. Labels often obscure what they are supposed to define. The label of "Jeffersonian democrat," which The New York Times attached to Fidel Castro, did precisely that.
For the record, Batista was not a dictator at the time he was overthrown by the Eisenhower administration on behalf of Fidel Castro. Batista had assumed office as constitutional president on February 24, 1955 and his term of office ran until February 24, 1959.
The U.S. informed Batista on December 17, 1958 that it would not recognize the results of a democratic election to replace him and so was left with no option but to resign, which he did on December 31, 1958.
It was the U.S. acting as overlord (or "dictator") which overthrew Batista and installed the dictatorial regime of Fidel Castro.
Sophomoric response, but i expected nothing more!!
You have a sophomoric mind, John, but that is not news to me or anyone.
Seeing this semantics ping-pong go on is kind of fun but having been a witness and lived under two dictatorships I feel gives me a unique perspective. John, you can interpret as you wish, still get tangled up in the political semantic or acknowledge that sometimes in life , qualifiers as “dictator” although carrying the most unsavory connotations it is the only way to bring a country out of the chaos of a preceding government or the looming destruction of a system that although technically “democratic” was on its way to handing the country to the most despotic dictatorship of its time, that of Russia.
We all know the KaSStro dictatorship model, not much to discuss there. Nothing redeeming about the despot, assassin , and for the purposes of this post a man incapable to use his one man rule power to enrich his country. On the contrary, he saw his autocracy as a means to experiment with the lives of millions, extend his whims and abhorrent political convictions to thousands of millions and bring the world to the edge of destruction.
On those terms “Dictator” could not be a more revolting title.
Now, let us rewind to Franco’s dictatorship. Yes politically a dictator, but a despot”.? NEVER.!
Franco took a country which had been burned down to cinders. A country that suffered one of the bloodiest civil wars in western history. A country which both Russians and Germans used as a real live testing ground for the most devastating weapons of their time. Including chemical warfare.
When Franco wins that war, a war which he had NO chance of winning. A war which the USA although knowing perfectly well that a victory for the communists in Spain would result in a spring board for Russia that WOULD reach the USA itself, but as Churchill said .. “The USA will always do the right thing, until they have tried everything else”
A man under those conditions and fighting against a devastating red tide, had to seek the assistance of "someone" and in this case that someone was Hitler.
He knew fully well what that entailed but none of the major “democracies” of the time came by to offer a hand. On the contrary , thousands of Americans, British & French formed the Brigadas Internacionels with one objective in mind, establish and maintain a communist regime at the mouth of the Mediterranean.
After you win that war, what is man to do ? Hold elections? The Russian money was still pouring into Spain . The sabotage , death brigades and every other possible means of returning Spain to the bosom of mother Russia were going strong , and STILL NONE of the democracies offered the most minimum help (of any kind) to Franco.
Now, here is the mettle of this man, in the midst of this he realizes that a dictatorship is the only way to control the country and avoid a “democratic” election that just as Chavez in Venezuela would result in a win for Russia. So there were NO elections, but also there were no lasting relations with Hitler. Big surprise to the Fuher when the little general told him ,”time to pack up, I need to clean house”
So there he is alone, still facing a barrage of attacks from every communist who walked the face of the earth at the time, a non existing economy. A lack of the most basic staples probably only compared to that of KaSStro’s Cuba.
Thirty plus years later I arrive in Spain from Cuba, and the first thing I am confronted with is the students demanding elections “This is a dictatorship” they told me. Wait a fucking second here.. *THIS* is a dictatorship? This beautiful city, all of this tranquility, skyscrapers going up, free education all the way to an university degree, the ability to come and go in or out of the country as you pleased . To own property, your home, your car. To have the right to trials REGARDLESS of what your crime was, *THIS* is a dictatorship? Fuck man, GIVE us Cubans THIS dictatorship.
Yeap it was and it saved Spain. During WWII Franco was able to eschew his old ally Hitler and maintained himself neutral.
Considering what pricks the allies had been during HIS war it will never be clear why Franco chose to remain neutral. In a Spanish port you would see a German Sub being repaired next to an American frigate. Why did he go this way? Because the dictator had ONE goal in mind, to keep Spain safe, to make it prosper. In a way he turned his back on Hitler and while playing kissy face with the Fuher he was passing the most secret German plans he could find to the USA. NOT to the allies, but to the USA.
The “dictator” knew Hitler well and also knew that an ally victory was inevitable, especially once the USA decided to do the “right thing”
In a astonishing monument called “El Valle de los Caidos” (The Valley of the fallen). Both sides the Republicans and the Nationalists are called heroes in this monument and their bodies lay one next to the other “as brothers”. The fact that the Second Spanish Republic although duly elected had fallen pray to Russia’s siren songs and was being openly handled by Moscow was of no consequence. Franco forgave that (I am sure with quite a lot of misgivings) and declared all the fallen ones “BROTHERS IN ARMS”
Before his death he drafted his succession personally so that Spain would become a constitutional monarchy. On his death Spain was the most prosperous country in western Europe , with a standard of living unheard of amongst the surrounding “democracies” . While Britain was taxing his citizens up to 95% of their income, taxes in Spain were miniscule while the social welfare made that of the USA pale in comparison.
So there you have it a “DICTATOR” who saved his country and put it at the very top of the economic social and educational scale.
I remember the day of the first “democratic” elections after Franco’s death. The students who of course had been asking for elections since the day after Franco came in to power were given one week off to prepare and enjoy this most momentous of days.
AT the time I had a Spaniard girlfriend and I flew to Spain from the USA to be with her when she voted 9It was a big deal to her) To my surprise and consternation I find her all depressed and hopeless at the airport
“What happen? Aren’t you happy, elections are tomorrow, isn’t this what you guys had been hammering about for 40 years?”
She looked at me with an apologetic look and said “95% of the students took the week off and went to the beach.”
She did NOT like my attack of convulsive laughter. None REALLY cared, the country was not going to get any better with an elected prime minister. Franco the DICTATOR had left them a golden future. In fact now they had ONE problem, NO reason to PROTEST!
killcastro:
Let me say two good things about Franco before I mention something not so good:
1. The Republican-Stalinists sent Spain's gold reserves, the accumulated booty of 400 years in the Americas, to the Soviet Union for "safekeeping." When Franco assumed power, Spain was in ruins and the treasury was empty. Anyone except Franco would have denounced the Stalinist plunder of his country. But Franco realized that for Spain to admit that it was penniless would be a lot worse than actually being penniless. So he said nothing and rebuilt Spain by borrowing against those non-existent gold reserves. He defrauded no one because he paid all of Spain's creditors and restored her fortunes as well.
2. Franco's policy of neutrality in World War II allowed Spain to save more Jews than any other nation in Europe. In fact, under Spain's Law of Return, which guaranteed Spanish citizenship to the descendents of Jews expelled in 1492, Spain was able to provide asylum or safe passage to a half-million Jews.
Of course, Franco's embrace of Fidel Castro diminishes his stature in my eyes considerably. He preferred to champion one gallego against a million others in Cuba. Franco always look on Fidel as the the avenger of 1898, which proved that he was more a Spaniard than an anti-Communist.
When he died, Fidel Castro decreed 9 days of mourning in Cuba. Castro, who is the most ungrateful man who ever lived, must have very powerful reasons to be grateful to Franco, his "godfather" before Khrushchev assumed that role.
Mr. T
This information about the relationship of KaSStro and Franco comes to me as a bit of a surprise.
There are several reasons why:
The first detractor of el Gobierno Revolucionario was the Spanish ambassador. I remember as a small kid , when TV stations where still semi independent. The Spanish ambassador hinting that KaSStro's regime was communist (the truth is that I got the explanations from my mom , I had no idea what they were on about). I do recall the cameras going blank.
The next day KaSStro gave one of his "FUCK you tirades" against the ambassador whom he called "El embajador de las orejas peludas" (typical cocky young KaSStro , any possible physical trait of an enemy he'd used to diminish their importance, this trait continued to the days of Aznar whom he called the little Hitler. (Aznar is a small guy)
The fact is true the Spanish ambassador had ears that looked like a palm tree, but KaSStro was relentless and hinted that if his government was indeed communist the Spanish ambassador would be dead just by having the insolence to call them communist on public TV - (Yeah KaSStro logic at its best) Franco called back the ambassador and issued a scathing note of protest and there were VERY tense moments between the two governments.
KaSStro gave in and apologized.
When the direct flights Cuba/USA stopped, Franco decreed an immediate Visa preference to Cuban citizens looking to leave the Island. In fact Spain was the only country that was giving Visas to Cubans. Again KaSStro had a fit and made it known on TV. Franco fired back with an unforgettable "If Cubans do no sympathize with the Cuban government, Cubans will always be welcomed in Spain because Spain owed much of its greatness to Cuba"
And another political scrimmage ensued. The Spanish embassy was blocked by KaSStro military for a couple of weeks and Spain was threatening to pull out all together. Suddenly an opening was announced and Spain made public that anyone who could prove any relation to Spain (regardless of the color of your skin- ( Here I learned of the black Cuban Picassos!) would have assurance of getting a Visa out of Cuba.
The lines at the embassy began at 12 midnight for the office to open at 8:30AM. I remember that a couple of embassy members would walk down the line and ask if you had any documents that proved your relationship to a Spaniard. My biological father was Asturiano and I had his "ceduala" and Spanish passport with me (I recall it was ruby red and you could not miss it) my mom waved the passport and we were pulled out of the line to the "anointed ones" line. Depending on the volume of Visas on any particular day towards closing times the embassy would interview anyone regardless of Spaniard decent or not.
Many were the salvos KaSStro threw at the Spanish, but I believe KaSStro indeed was scared shitless of Franco. The lines and organization at the Spanish embassy were a model in efficiency and control and the Milicianos treated everyone with a respect that they would not show 2 blocks away. Not ACTOS DE REPUDIO permitted!
In Spain, the Franco government prepared itself to receive Cubans in an almost military fashion. If any document was not 100% correct when you arrived in Spain, the immigration staff was directed to allow the individual in and take care of any issues later. I never heard of ONE Cuban sent back to Cuba regardless of how fucked up their paper work was.
The church was called in, the International Rescue Committee was involved and the Spanish government paid more than 80% of all expense while you were in Spain, You signed a promissory note of repayment but no-one ever did. I personally am still sending monthly checks to the Franciscan order I am THAT grateful!
While in Spain military doctors would come to see us weekly (I was at El ESCORIAL) and Cubans would get privileged treatment when it came to any legal process while staying in Spain, in fact the standard 3 month Visa given in Cuba, was extended to 1 year on your first renewal but ONLY to Cubans
I can imagine that as Franco used Hitler and got much out of him, he could also have used KaSStro. Perhaps if there was a simpatico between the two men, Franco might have felt that KaSStro would pull another Spain miracle , the dictatorship issue could not have bothered Franco and Franco still resented the USA indifference while his country burned.
So, if indeed there was an amicable relationship between KaSStro and Franco it was one where Franco would take absolutely NO shit from KaSStro and KaSStro behaved very meekly towards the General.
Killcastro:
In the period between the rupture of relations with the U.S. and Cuba's vassalage to the Soviet Union, it was Francisco Franco who kept Cuba afloat. The full extent of that assistance was never acknowledged on either side for obvious reasons. It is fair to say, however, that without Franco's firm determination, as he put it, "not to abandon Cuba," Communism on the island would have had a very short shelf life.
As I recall, Cuban exiles were forbidden from working in Franco's Spain and could not send their children to school, much less engage in any political activity. The idea was always to use Spain as a way station to the U.S.
killcastro:
Besides being both gallegos, Francisco Franco and Fidel Castro were also revanchists. Just as Castro never showed any gratitude for everything that the U.S. did to undermine Batista and facilitate his rise to power, Franco did not feel in the least beholden to the U.S. for having refused to remove him in 1945 or for providing him with military assistance and protection.
Thus spoke the Caudillo in 1967:
“I believe that all the activities which have been carried out in the Western world against us have been carried out by organizations which receive funds from the CIA above all with the intention of establishing... an American-style political system on the day that I cease to be around."
Mr. T
Let's say our experinces about this differ greatly.
I knew quite a lot of Cubans in Spain (well Madrid) who did work (albeit in mennial tasks) and met quite a few who had no-one in the USA and stayed in Spain. In fact a good friend whom I still correspond with stayed and became a priest, that did not last long and got the equivalent of an MBA and now runs a very succesful contrators business in Asturias , coincidentaly just a few miles from where my paternal family emerged.
Although my paternal surname is an Hidalgo name my family was mostly made up of sheppards and the area was plain MONTE about 15 years ago my buddy opened his business principally constructing manufacturing plants.
I do agree with you that Franco's aid to KaSStro at the begining was of tremendus help for the BEAST to stay in power, but it alsohelped feed a lot of Cubans. I always thought it as the opposite of the so called USA embargo.
AGain from a personal view , I hold Franco as one of the greatest leaders of our times.
como se habla mierda en este blog
A la trinchera Mambises
killcastro:
I wish that I could share with your unqualified admiration for Francisco Franco; there are so few unqualified heroes in this world.
As far as I'm concerned, Franco could have screwed his own mother and it wouldn't have mattered to me so long as he saved Spain from Communism. But the one thing which I cannot excuse is his part in propping up Communism in our country (that is, screwing all our people), not out of any humanitarian concern for us but to avenge himself on the U.S. for the defeat of 1898, which for him, at least, was not ancient history but the seminal event of his life up to the time of the Civil War. He had no scrupples whatever about making Cubans the instrument of his revenge even if this meant inflicting on us what he spared the Spaniards.
When Castro confiscated the property of one million Spanish citizens (mostly gallegos as himself) Franco said nothing; when Castro expelled 80% of Cuba's priests and nuns (mostly Spaniards) the arch-Catholic Franco didn't say one word; when Castro assumed effective control of ETA and approved the assassination of Franco's closest friends and collaborators, again Franco said nothing. In fact, Franco never spoke one word of criticism of Castro in the 16 years (1959-1975) that they coincided as caudillos of their respective countries.
The dignity of Spain was uphelp by its ambassador to Cuba, whom Franco did not support in his actions because he did not share his aversion for Castro. Franco's relationship with Castro was as close and cordial as could be for two men who had never met and mirrored that of his minister Fraga, who was a toady for Castro then and remains one today.
Our discussion on this subject has made me aware of a very disturbing fact: there has been a complete cover-up of this alliance of convenience between the two most controversial Hispanic caudillos of the 20th century.
Google "Francisco Franco" and "Fidel Castro" and you will find many jokes about their morbidity (i.e. Franco admonishes Castro for taking "early retirement") but little about their personal friendship and the crucial role that Franco played in propping up Castro when he was most vulnerable. Naturally, this is something that would embarrass all parties today.
Not Castro, though.
As I've said, Castro declared 9 days of national mourning in Cuba for the death of the great anti-Communist, which proves that Franco really wasn't.
What Franco did to Cuba will always matter to me more than what he did for Spain.
I know that you, too, will share my opinion once you have all the facts, and I intend to collect them for a future post on this subject.
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MaT,
the history I've been told is similar to KC's. I'm really surprised about your statements about Franco. I really would love to read more about this.
Corgiguy,
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