Thursday, December 11, 2008

Will Val Prieto Be At Least the "Man" that Yoani Sánchez Is?

Val Prieto recently dedicated a post to praising the ballsiness of Yoani Sánchez for calling a Castro henchman a "coward" to his face. His effusiveness at her defiance of unlawful authority suggests that his own response, under the same circumstances, would have been far more discreet, say "How high?" or "How low?" Yoani doesn't pretend to represent anybody but herself. But since her experience is a universal one she in fact represents everybody in Cuba. Val's experience of tyranny is far more limited, unless one counts the dead chickens and coconuts left on his front yard; but that doesn't stop him from "promis[ing] to do my very best to represent you, Cuba and her people." Well, we are not at all surprised that Val thinks that George Bush has the right to choose Cuba's leaders or that an invitation to a Bloggers' Conference at the White House is tantamount to election to the Cuban House of Representatives, at the very least.

No reader of Babalú could fail to note Val's obsequiousness to George Bush. There hasn't been anything like it since Reagan was president. Although Reagan, also, defrauded us, Grenada being the closest that he ever got to Cuba, at least his interest in defeating Communism was sincere. For Bush, fighting Communism is not the lodestar of his existence. It is at best a rhetorical flourish unearthed from his bag of tricks whenever speaking to an audience of Cuban-Americans. For Barack Obama, alas, not fighting Communism is as strong an instinct as fighting Communism was for Reagan. Of course, you can't jump from Reagan's position to Obama's without a Bush declaring, in words and conduct, that Communist Cuba is no longer a threat to the security of the United States or its neighbors, and that the real threat now is instability in Cuba: in other words, a Cuba without Castro.

If Val addresses even one word to the president at the-Bloggers' Summit, it will be "thanks" for inviting Hialeah's "welder's son" (his phrase) to the White House. We have no idea what his father's occupation -- really, an art -- has to do with anything. If Val himself were a rail-splitter like Lincoln, then a reference to his origins would be entirely appropriate since it would indicate a very uncommon progression in life which merit alone could account for. Val's road to the White House, already prefigured by an invitation to listen-in on a conference call about Cuba and to participate earlier this year at the May 20th fete there, is the kind of reward given to party hacks who qualify for neither political appointments or Medals of Freedom, but whose unconditional loyalty is at least worth a presidential photograph. (At this time, they have a great many of those lying around the White House).

I suppose that some may think that at this late date there is nothing that Bush could do to affect Cuba policy having squandered 8 years of opportunities, and, what's worse, strengthened Castro's hand at every chance while weakening the Cuban people's. This assumption is simply wrong. Bush is still POTUS and his powers are not in the least limited by his lame duck status. In fact, he is freer now to act than at any other time because it is too late for there to be any personal repercussions for his actions.

With a stroke of his pen, for example, Bush could end the disgraceful "Wet Foot/Dry Foot" policy, which this year resulted in the apprehension and repatriation to Cuba of 2000 refugees. Quite apart from the fact that this policy actually violates U.S. law (namely, the Cuban Adjustment Act [1966] which grants all Cuban refugees asylum without distinction), is it really worth it for the U.S. to turn its back on 232 years of tradition and renounce its historic mission as a haven for the world's oppressed in order to act as Fidel Castro's piratical enforcer so that he won't unleash a massive exodus as he did in 1980? Couldn't the U.S. have simply told him that it would regard such a provocation as an act of war? Instead, the U.S. is content to place its Coast Guard at Castro's orders and have them act as his bloodhounds on the high seas.

It has not occurred to Val & Company, though they have published numerous posts for Human Rights Day, that the "Wet Foot/Dry Foot Policy" is a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which upholds the right of citizens of every nation to leave and freely return to their own country. Castro denies all Cubans that right and the U.S. is his accomplice, held hostage by him the same as his people are, with the distinction that it is a voluntary hostage.

But don't expect Val Prieto, a consistent apologist for the "Wet Foot/Dry Foot" policy, to raise any objection. He is there to ingratiate himself to the president not to embarrass him.

47 comments:

Anonymous said...

Val may be invited a third time to the White House for the distribution of Bush's soiled underwear.

Vana said...

To ingratiate himself indeed! or help with his advice to sink the Cuban situation deeper into despair, remember Cubans need no money.

Anonymous said...

Yoani 100

Val -1000

Anonymous said...

Val for President of Cuba

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Only if Fidel chooses him as Raúl's successor.

Sharpshooter said...

MAT,
Ouch! that one was right on target. He could ask Bush many things about Cuba, but I am sure Val will remain very quiet and will not disturb the ocassion with an embarrasing question for Bush. A wasted opportunity indeed.

Fantomas said...

Val Prieto no representa absolutamente a los cubanos dentro de la isla

Los que necesitan librarse del yugo opresor

Val si es un vehiculo para denunciar la dictadura

De ahi a representar va mucho

Val does not represent this Cuban

No con esa actitud

Anonymous said...

According to Henry Gómez and George Moneo, Val Prieto wasn't able to call their Babalu Radio Hour show because "their esteemed founding editor" who "was representing all Cuban bloggers and commenters" was busy "having too much fun at the secret location where he's at....I believe there's sudds there...when you meet the President you are allowed to tie one over..." these last quotes are from the archive at Blog Talk Radio, at about the 25 minute mark into the program.

Anonymous said...

was busy "having too much fun at the secret location where he's at

Se estaba dando la fria

Anonymous said...

Ah, las frias....
Is there anything more important that cheap beer in this world?
Not for Mr. Prieto!
In the meantime, somebody was caught in the open the ocean and after a good high pressure bath with a Coast Guard cutter hose, he was forcibly repatriated to Cuba. Pero si uno se puede tomar un par de frias that's all small peanuts boy!

Anonymous said...

Manuel, exactly what opportunities has Bush squandered?

He toughened the embargo by limiting Cuban American travel & remittances. Outside of this, what else could he do to remove that nasty regime besides a military invasion?

Anonymous said...

Manuel said: With a stroke of his pen, for example, Bush could end the disgraceful "Wet Foot/Dry Foot" policy



Right on Mat!!

Angel Garzón said...

Manuel, this thread and the one that precedes it are outstanding in their exposition of the truth about G.W. Bush and his avowed unconditional supporter Val Prieto, apparently Val has disappeared somewhere in or near DC, perhaps Bush took him to his secret bunker where the POTUS would be taken in case of a nuclear, biological or chemical attack against the USA, maybe Bush wants Val's opinion as an architect as to the feasibility of a duplicate being built wherever Bush will be moving to after he leaves the White House.

CJB-BCJ, thanks for the tips, I'll check my iTunes to listen to the details that you mentioned, I'll have to download that Podcast quickly before George or Henry decide to delete it from the BTR feed, it may very well be possible that George and Henry were not paying attention to what they were saying about Val and drinking at the White House, knowing how they operate, it wouldn't surprise me if they try to remove the program from BTR's archive.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

anonymous:

Bush didn't "tighten the embargo;" he consented to its being gutted in order to placate Republican congressmen from the Farm Belt. The only provision of the embargo which still remains in place bars the Cuban regime from buying on credit from the U.S.

The restrictions on remittances and family visits which Bush imposed in 2004 served no other purpose than to make Cubans hungrier and more miserable, and to increase their dependence on the state.

Anonymous said...

What gets me is Val (these are KC's words) doesn't know whether to call Yoani a Cuban or a Communist. He [Val] doesn't know what he's doing. It's that simple.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Matt:

If Val knew what he was doing, he wouldn't do it.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

angel:

He should have gotten drunk before he met with the president. Then, at least, there might have been some spontaneity in their exchange.

Anonymous said...

Maybe the reason that Val hasn't written about his trip to Washington is that he can't remember any of it.

Anonymous said...

At the end of the show George goes into a quick fire profanity tirade to describe someone they claim always listens to their show and reads their blog everyday, Henry calls that person a "pussy" George agrees and Zhiva is left speechless by the profanity and anger of George and Henry. We don't quite know who they were takking about, but it may be Tellechea, Angel or Rick, we think because they said this person doesn't like using profanity, the moniker that was used we have never heard so we are not sure which one of the three we mentioned is the person they were talking about.

Anonymous said...

I'm Cuban and I approve this message

VAL DOES NOT REPRESENT ME

Anonymous said...

At the end of the show George goes into a quick fire profanity tirade to describe someone they claim always listens to their show and reads their blog everyday, Henry calls that person a "pussy" George agrees and Zhiva is left speechless by the profanity and anger of George and Henry. We don't quite know who they were takking about, but it may be Tellechea, Angel or Rick, we think because they said this person doesn't like using profanity, the moniker that was used we have never heard so we are not sure which one of the three we mentioned is the person they were talking about.

I know it is not Fantomas. It must be Rick for sure, yeah Baby

Anonymous said...

Word

Anonymous said...

It's got to be Rick. He once deleted a comment that Henry made on his blog because he used the word "ass" as in Rick being one.

Anonymous said...

Rick

Anonymous said...

REMINDER


H- Review of Cuban-American Blogs vows to close down if Obama is elected.
I have said that if Barack Obama wins this election I will close RCAB on Inauguration Day 2009.

Centurion said...

Saludos, saludos mis amigos cubanos... donde esta el gran heroe cubano ?

Donde esta fantomas ?

Anonymous said...

Santo Fantomas

Anonymous said...

VAL HAS ARRIVED A LA SAGUASERA , THE TILT IS OPEN

NICE PIC



Home, sweet home
I've just arrived from a pretty grueling day and a half in the Nations Capital and Im beat. It was an incredible and productive trip, the results of which I'm sure will bear fruit. I'll post details in the next couple days but right now, I want to thank the most excellent writers and bloggers on the net, our contributors, for busting their behinds and publishing incredible pieces while I was in DC.

Gracias, guys, you truly are the heart and soul of this blog.

As a quick tease, here's an image of our meeting with The President of the United States.

Posted by Val Prieto at 11:03 PM | Permanent Link to this Post | Habla (0)

Anonymous said...

Wow insanity and dillusion appear to be familial diseases, Val Prieto's cousin Tomas Estrada Palma seems to have gone whacko, he has never been the brightest lightbulb on the christmas tree, but lately him and his friend from New Jersey Don "Royceroy" Dominguez have been talking all kinds of whacko conspiracy theory types of nonsense, non-sequitorial and off left field statements are more common from them now than ever before, the Dominguez fellow has been ranting all kinds of crazy shit, reading whatever he writes is almost impossible because he writes worse than a second grader, all of these guys are out of their minds, something else they all have in common is that they are not people who have lived in Cuba, yet they believe that they know Cuba and Cubans better than those of us who are Cubans, they must drink the same beer brand, probably acquired by Val Prieto who just got back to Miami via Greyhound bus.

Anonymous said...

Y el cabeza de puerco ese es el raton que no le dijo nada a Bush de los pobres balseros que mandan para Cuba?

Anonymous said...

VAL LLEGO Y AHORA EL PAN

Promoción del plan por la libertad

El Presidente Bush ha hecho que la promoción de los derechos humanos en el mundo sea un elemento central de su presidencia. Con el plan del Presidente Bush a favor de la libertad, Estados Unidos ha aumentado sus esfuerzos por implementar la Declaración Universal de Derechos Humanos en todo el mundo. Es de interés nuestro continuar promoviendo la libertad porque, gracias a la historia, sabemos que la promoción de la libertad es necesaria para nuestra seguridad y paz. Entre los esfuerzos del poder ejecutivo por apoyar este objetivo se encuentran:

Prácticamente aumentó al doble los fondos para proyectos de democracia desde el 2001. El presupuesto del Presidente para el año fiscal 2009 solicita más de $1,700 millones en fondos para la democracia, buen gobierno y derechos humanos, un aumento con relación a menos de $700 millones en el 2001. Además, el presupuesto para el año fiscal 2009 solicita $80 millones para el Fondo Nacional a favor de la Democracia (National Endowment for Democracy), un aumento con respecto a los $31 millones en el 2001.


Dictó sanciones contra regímenes opresores. Durante los últimos siete años, el gobierno se ha pronunciado y ha promulgado medidas firmes contra los abusos de los derechos humanos por parte de regímenes tiránicos como los de Belarús, Birmania, Cuba, Irán, Sudán, Siria y Zimbabwe. El gobierno también se ha pronunciado con franqueza sobre los derechos humanos en países con los que Estados Unidos tiene buenas relaciones, como Egipto, Arabia Saudita y China. El Presidente Bush ha hecho llamados regulares a la liberación de todos los presos de conciencia en todo el mundo.


Estableció política y prácticas para promover la libertad en todo el mundo. En julio, el Presidente emitió la Directiva Presidencial 58 sobre Seguridad Nacional: La Institucionalización del Plan por la Libertad para ofrecer pautas a futuros gobiernos, presentando la política y muchas de las prácticas que se pusieron en vigor para promover la libertad en todo el mundo.


Mostró solidaridad con activistas de la sociedad civil: El Presidente se ha reunido personalmente con más de 180 activistas a favor de la democracia y los derechos humanos, y periodistas independientes y familiares, provenientes de más de 35 países. En el 2007, el Presidente otorgó la Medalla Presidencial de la Libertad (Presidential Medal of Freedom) al Dr. Oscar Elías Biscet de Cuba, en reconocimiento por los esfuerzos del Dr. Biscet por el cambio democrático y no violento en Cuba. A partir del año pasado, la secretaria de Estado comenzó a otorgar dos premios anuales para rendir homenaje a quienes luchan por la dignidad humana:


Premio a los Defensores de la Libertad (Freedom Defenders Award): Este premio rinde homenaje a un activista u organización no gubernamental en el extranjero que ha demostrado valentía y gran dedicación a la promoción de la libertad a pesar de adversidades. La ganadora de este año fue la periodista rusa Yulia Latynina.


Premio a la Diplomacia a favor de la Libertad (Diplomacy For Freedom Award): Este premio rinde homenaje al embajador estadounidense que mejor fomente la libertad con esfuerzos por poner fin a la tiranía y promover la democracia utilizando una gran variedad de herramientas políticas, económicas, diplomáticas y de otro tipo. El ganador de este año es el embajador ante Zimbabwe, James McGee.
# # #

Anonymous said...

Wow , Bush is the Champion of Liberty for Cuba , sudan , iraq, Iran, North Corea, Venezuela , afganistan, tratado de colombia

El se va en par de semanas y deja una tremenda legacia . Bush acabo con todos los conflictos de los paises mencionados arriba

VAMOS A DARLE UNA MEDALLITA DE HONOR POR LA LIBERTAD A MR DANGER

Anonymous said...

VAL , WE LOVE YOU

YOU ARE THE MESSIAH

YOU ARE BABY

THANK YOU DUDE FOR REPRESENTING ALL OF US THAT DO NOT OWN BLOGS OR HAVE A VOICE

PRESIDENTE VITALICIO PARA CUBA ..REELECCION INDEFINIDA
VAL PRIETO PRESIDENTE DE CUBA

Anonymous said...

Val , besos , se te quiere de sobra

Te amamos Val

Tremendo trabajo en DC

Uh , ah VAL NO SE VA

Anonymous said...

Este blog necesita vida y sangre. Esta muy lento. Manuel por favor cuando cierres dale el password a Fantomas para que el siga aqui tu labor. Añadelo como autor de tu blog para que el lo mantenga vivo
El se merece esa distincion. He made you famous en la blogosfera

Anonymous said...

Valentinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

You made my day

Best Regards

Anonymous said...

Wow insanity and dillusion appear to be familial diseases, Val Prieto's cousin Tomas Estrada Palma seems to have gone whacko


Mas respeto con Tomas. He has his own stilo. Roy is a trip. Good guy, adding his 2 cents. Let him be . Roy is Roy the same as Manny is Manny ( Dodger Blue)

Anonymous said...

I hereby announce Val Prieto will remain leader of Babalu blog until 2021

Go Val , el pueblo esta contigo viejo

Anonymous said...

LAST MAN STANDING IN THE WHITE HOUSE

Nice pic with Bush Val

Que paso con la guayabera roja que te regalo Perez Roura?

Anonymous said...

Coñooooooooooooooooooo

Que feo y gordo esta pay-Val.

Val u need 2 start a collection bro, for lipo..........


Deja de chupar frias brothel.....

Anonymous said...

Coño ¿quien cojone es el maricón zingáo que dice que yo soy mulato?

En la pinga cabrona me cago en su puta madre, my apellido es PRIETO coño, PRIETO cojone.

Anonymous said...

Anonimo 11:51 no jodas consorte vamos a ser claros y honestos, yo también dejé de visitár el blog de Estrada Palma porque el tipo se tostó hace rato, el Roy fué descrito con exactitud por el anonimo de las 11:37, el fulano Roy no sabe escribír, hablár o pensár y francamente se comporta como un anormál, la verdad es la verdad aunque sea dificil de admitír.

Anonymous said...

Val cojelo suave broder, ya entendemos que un viaje en Greyhound es largo y cansante, a lo mejor si no te hubieras tomado tantas frias no oirias lo que nadie a dicho, todo el mundo sabe que tu eres blanco con ojos azules y tu pelo es liso y suave como el de todos los Aryanos.

Val Val tranquilo que nadie te a llamado un ano, dijeron Aryanos como los alemanes de Hitler caballo, acuestate a dormir que tienes que trabajar en la arquitectura mañana, ¿OK?

Anonymous said...

oye Val asere, si va al versalle a selebra tu viaje ... pol favol mi negro gualdame un torreja brothel no te la coma toa ... deja algo pa los dema

Fantomas said...

You come , you read, you listen and you pay Val

Friday Sound-off Open Thread
I'm too tired to write anything so feel free to comment on whatever the hell you want. Here's a conversation starter: the Big Three Auto Maker bailout failed to pass the Senate last night, and that's a good thing. Discuss.

Posted by George Moneo at 07:15 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Habla (0)

Anonymous said...

Y Yoani?
Por que no la pusieron en teleconforerencia con los bloggers?
Por miedo? Por miedo a que dijera oye tu, tu fuieste el que me acuso de ser de la seguridad, verdad? O por miedo a que le dijera unas cuantas cosas a Bush....

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