They Say I Waste My Time And Squander My Talents

They say that I waste my time and squander my talents by my "fixation" on Babalú. But do I really? For 2 years, I debated with Val on Babalú the "Dry Foot/Wet Foot" policy, and, in particular, the U.S. Coast Guard's brutal treatment of Cuban refugees, which he continually refused to acknowledge. But no more. He has seen the light. About the "Wet Foot/Dry Foot" policy. About Bush. About the U.S. Coast Guard. Two years behind me, but still in my footsteps. For which I am nothing but glad. I am sure that all our political differences will resolve themselves in precisely the same way.

August 2005:

Alright, George Bush's quirkiness and anti-intellectualism can be endearing traits, and he himself appears to be an altogether likable man. I would like him, too, if he'd just stop sending Cuban refugees by the boatload to Castro. Such shameless flaunting of U.S. tradition as a haven for the oppressed would have been unthinkable during the Cold War. In Cuba, however, nothing has changed since the Cold War. But, for purposes of immigration, Cuba has apparently been "liberated" by U.S. policymakers because Cuban refugees are now routinely returned to Cuba under the assumption that they will not face punitive measures there. This assumption is on its face a lie and the height of disingenuousness on the part of those who claim to enforce U.S. laws, and, in particular, on the part of the chief law enforcer himself, President George Bush II. The Cuban Resettlement Act (1965) did not establish a "dry foot/wet foot" policy. This was purely the invention of Clinton and Reno, who never saw a law they wouldn't subvert. For 30 years (quite a long precedent!), Cuban refugees were admitted legally to the U.S. regardless of whether they reached land or were rescued on the high seas. Besides the element of luck (which should make us pity those stranded on the high seas even more), what difference is there between these two groups of refugees? Both are fleeing the same oppression and both are deserving of the same protections that the Law establishes for them. But George Bush has seen fit to adopt and make his own Clinton's tendentious reinterpretation of the Law. If he wanted to, George Bush could reverse Bill Clinton's heartless policy today. Such a policy shift (or, rather, restoration) would require no special laws, amendments or congressional imput. All the President has to do is inform his Attorney General than henceworth we will again be enforcing the Cuban Resettlement Act (1965) according to its original intent. That's all. George Bush is on record as supporting amnesty and legalization for illegal Mexican immigrants in the U.S. Why, then, does he continue to forcibly repatriate Cuban refugees? Why does his Coast Guard harass and abuse them every day, presumably at his orders or at the uncountered orders of his predecessor? George Bush is in the White House because Cuban-American voters in Florida put him there, as he has himself acknowledged on several occasions. What are Cuban-Americans, then, wasting their political capital on, since it certainly isn't being spent on behalf of Cuban refugees? Will some of the Bush supporters on this forum stop supporting him long enough to say one word on behalf of their own brothers?
Posted by M.A.T. at August 12, 2005 09:32 AM

Oh, gimme a break, MAT.
Posted by Val Prieto at August 12, 2005 09:42 AM

[Val deletes my comment where I stated that Bush had, by 2005, enforced the "Wet Foot/Dry Foot" policy longer than Clinton had and that it was as much Bush's policy as Clinton's. I also made reference to the predations of the U.S. Coast Guard on Cuban refugeees, which had escalated, not decreased, under Bush; and finally, I mentioned the fact that the U.S. Coast Guard and Castro's Coast Guard were actually collaborating on the interdiction of Cuban refugees on the high seas, which effectively erased any distinction between them].

Seriously MAT. I deleted your last comment. If you dislike Bush thats one thing, but dont place the blame on him for the wet foot/dry foot policy. And you certainly cant expect the POTUS to open up the cuban border and allow a huge number of immigrants to come into the states. Because thats exactly what would happen. Thousands upon thousands of Cubans fleeing the island, many on rafts and many dying at sea, then those that get here causing havoc on the system and the economy. If you wanna bash Bush, I suggest another blog. I aint going to blame the man for shit that isnt his fault.
Posted by Val Prieto at August 12, 2005 09:58 AM


March 2007:

Before Clinton, the Coast Guard's mission was to save Cubans. Now it is to intercept them and return them to Cuba by any means fair or foul. "Interception" can take many forms, including capsizing the Cubans, watching impassively as they drown, beating them back into the ocean, or even repatriating them after they have already made land by the curious expedient of determining that a bridge to nowhere is a bridge to hell. Let's see if even one Republican candidate denounces the travesty of justice that the calamitous George Bush has enforced longer than Clinton did. I used to laugh when human rights organizations would condemn the U.S. for violating human rights. I no longer laugh. It's done here and it's done to our fellow Cubans.
Posted by: Manuel A. Tellechea at March 9, 2007 08:16 AM


Manuel,
I have to take exception to:
watching impassively as they drown...
I dont recall a single incident where the Coast Guard caused or stood by and did nothing while a would be refugee drowned.
I agree with the rest wholeheartedly, but that mentioned above simply doesnt ring true.
Posted by: Val Prieto at March 9, 2007 08:32 AM

July 2007:

Tired, wretched and poor?

I dont want to get into a debate on the totally absurd "wet foot/dry foot" policy, but I do want to take this opportunity to say the US Coast Guard can kiss my ass.
Posted by: Val Prieto at July 23, 2007 10:38 AM

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB118514584100774416-lMyQjAxMDE3ODI1MzEyNDM1Wj.html

Cubamania: How Acquainted Are You with Pure Evil?

"Ever see little kids play? Use 5 yr olds as an example. One group of kids can have the best and most expensive toys, the other groups can have a stick and a plastic bag. There is no guarantee that the kids with the cool toys will have more fun than the kids with nothing. Cubans are the kids with the stick and the empty bag. The material things make life easy, not happy. — A commenter on the Canadian forum Cubamania

Is a "stick and a paper bag" good enough for your own children? You certainly have it in your power to make it so. Do you? To free your dear children of materialism do you deny them all luxuries in order to promote asceticism in them and disdain for material things? Or, more to the point, do you deny your dear self anything at all? Of course you don't. You and your children enjoy the best and nothing but the best. But the worst is good enough for Cuba's children because they can have fun "with nothing."

It is every parent's wish to give the best that they can to their children. The parents of the Cuban child who must play with a stick and paper bag for want of toys would gladly lavish all the toys in the world on their child if they could. But in your opinion, their unrealized materialism might spoil that child and is best not realized, whereas your own fully realized materialism is not in the least deleterious to yourself or to your children.

This dualism is easily explicable in light of the fact that you regard Cubans as noble savages who exist to give the world an object lesson on the joys of uncivilized living, sans food, clothes, medicines and toys, sans everything but the baubles that you chose to give them in order to degrade and exploit them as your ancestors degraded and exploited the aboriginal peoples a century ago.



***
The foregoing comment and my reply appeared on Cubamania, a Canadian forum dedicated to Cuba whose commenters share personal experiences gleamed from their trips to the island, which some of them claim to have visited on more than 50 occasions. There are also a couple of actual Cubans on the board who remain their 24/7 countering the endless stream of Communist propaganda. To assist their Anglo supporters, offering orientation when their own pro-Castro instincts fail to rise to the magnificence of Castro's thought, are so called "journalists" from Granma, including the head of CubaDebate and columnist for Juventud Rebelde, Rosa Miriam Elizalde (aka Mambito), who was recently outed by Peter Pérez, one of the ace anti-Castro commenters. If this is even conceivable, the Australians, British and Canadians (the new "ABC" Alliance) who moor at Cubamania are even more canine in their defense of Castro than his American acolytes because they have benefitted more fully from the perquisites with which the regime rewards its foreign apologists. Cuba is their playground, where they can cavort in unwholesome ways with the natives, howsoever young: there they can feel (and act) like "ugly Americans" without being exposed at home for what they really are.

What struck me most forcefully about them was their disdain for Cubans (the ones on the island even more than those in Miami). No one who degrades a people and exploits their misery can be supposed to feel any real sympathy for them, although they are forever telling us how much they love Cuba and how generous they have been with their Cuban "friends." Not only do they reject the label of "exploiters" but actually claim that it is the Cuban people who "exploits" them. One even candidly admitted that "El cubano es tu amigo hasta el último favor" [A Cuban is your friend only until your last gift.] "Friend" is a euphemism and so is "gift," of course. The commenter went on to elaborate on the ways that Cubans "exploit" foreigners:

"One of the travesties of today's Cuban culture is that it has created an environment where it is morally acceptable to steal, lie and cheat. Like they all went to politician school (sorry, couldn't resist). There are those who do it to just enough to get by, and then there are those that can often be ruthless, their sense of entitlement astounding and their greed unlimited. Like it's their divine right to steal and cheat anyone in their path.

Some of the forms of "exploitation" listed at length include theft from inbound luggage at the airport; ridiculous tariffs on goods set by customs inspectors who want to see the tourists "bleed money"; taxi drivers who don't turn on meters or sell 80 cent beers for $2.00; sales clerks and waiters who give tourist "special prices" which are higher than the "normal price" and pocket the difference; Cubans who ask them to buy milk for their babies or "invent a tragedy" in order to "extort" them for money; brand name water bottles refilled with tap water, and, of course, fake cigars.

My reaction was that I was glad to learn that Fidel Castro has not killed completely the entrepreneurial spirit of the Cuban people. Nothing that they described seemed to me in the least exploitative. The goods that are being sold to the tourists have been stolen from the Cuban people by Castro and they are right to squeeze the tourists for as much as they can. All of this seems triffling stuff to me, which tourists wouldn't even notice if they were visiting any other country but Cuba (where they expect to be the exploiters not the "exploited"). Certainly, none of this is exclusive to Cuba and tourists probably would be taken for a great deal more if they visited any other country because in Cuba the means are few and the expectations lower.

And yet, despite this so-called "exploitation" on the part of Cuban nationals -- not to mention the predations of the Castro regime on their pocketbooks via a bogus exchange rate, which is the only brief that they have against their otherwise accommodating Castroite hosts -- most of them have travelled to the island more than once, indeed the average must be at least a dozen times per individual. Apparently, they are not satisfied with being "exploited" once. They want to be "exploited" over and over again.

Of course most deny that such a thing as sex tourism exists to any great extent, and the few who do acknowledge it insist that they themselves have so such motivation. Here's a typical comment (with my reply) from someone who denies the very reason for Canadian tourism while offering his own prescription for survival in Castro's Cuba without it:

"[Cubans] don't need to prostitute themselves or their family members to live and eat. Just work extra hard, minimize your participation in black market activity and stay out of politics. Most Cubans I know do just that and are more content than the average North American I know, plus the quality of family life is way superior."

Let me see if I understand you. No, let me re-phrase that: I will never understand you; but I can at least release your words from the cozy prison of euphemisms in which you have confined them. Cubans, you allege, are "more content" than North Americans. Is that right? They are content to live in the world's oldest dictatorship, which is run like the Castros' own private corporation. Strange, but I don't see North Americans risking their lives in the world's most dangerous waters for the slim chance of sharing the Cubans' "contentment." In fact, the traffic is all in the other direction. Poor deluded souls! If only they could realize how "good" they have it in Cuba. But you, of course, are far more deluded than they are. For you claim to have found this socialist paradise and yet deprive yourselves of the "contentment" of living there full-time. Why it's so easy. All you have to do is '[j]ust work extra hard, minimize your participation in black market activity and stay out of politics." So, in other words, become more of a slave to the fascist-communist corporate state; forgo the chance to eat as much as you can by not dealing in the black market; and renounce the idea of democracy or the Rule of Law. Yes, that is certainly a fulfilling life which conduces to nothing but "contentment." Certainly, starvation and misery do bring families closer together, but you don't have to be in Cuba to practice self-denial. And, of course, it would be a conscious decision on your part, not one force upon you by the government. Don't be content to envy the Cubans their lifestyle, but adopt it yourselves. It's a lot easier for you to adopt their lifestyle than it is for them to adopt yours (as most of them would if they could). If only it were possible for you to change places with them!

On Cubamania it is not the foreigners who are considered the chief culprits in the sexual exploitation of Cuban children by foreign pedophiles. Nor is the Castro regime held accountable for promoting, sanctioning and abetting such exploitation. Who, then, is responsible for perpetuating it? One (who claims to be married to a Cuban) enlightens us:

"I blame the parents of the [Cuban] children for OFFERRING their children up.....that's completely different than a child who gets molested in Canada. One is where the parents are CONTRIBUTING to the exploitation of their own children.....a child molested in Canada is not being offered up by their parents. Maybe some [Cuban] parents shouldn't be so damn quick to offer up their children as a means to bring in extra dollars for the family."

And there you have it: innocent tourists to Cuba -- for the most part unaccompanied middle-aged males on a pilgrimage to the "Virgin of Charity," no doubt -- bravely resist the enticements of "Lolitas" and "Lolitos" who are literally pressed on them by their rapacious parent-pimps. And why do these beneficent Canadians place themselves in such a compromising situation? Because of love -- the purest kind. For, you see, they have assumed the "White Man's Burden" of teaching the natives the rudiments of civilization. Consented, yes, to be exploited shamelessly by them, even lured into sin, to redeem them from the moral ennui which their carefree and contented lives foster.

We shall leave the denizens of Cubamania where we found them, admiring ominously a little Cuban boy playing with a stick and a plastic bag...

POSTSCRIPT:

What the foreign pedophiles don't seem to know, or discount because of their insatiable and unnatural lust, is that their every move in Cuba, their every interaction with Cubans, is noted and recorded in the DGI Archives in case it should become necessary to blackmail them (as hundreds have already been blackmailed, even in the highest echelons of the Canadian government). When Cuba is free these records will be made public immediately and used to bring to justice all who have violated the sanctity of Cuban children. Even those who are not prosecuted will still be afraid to set foot in Cuba ever again because foreigners will never again enjoy in our country the rights of conquerors or slavemasters.

The Final Days of Babaloo Are Here

Well, Babalú blog is a ghost town of posts to which not a single comment is hitched (no comments today and just 2 yesterday). It would seem that its commenters have quit in droves because of Babalú's practice of censorship and the nonsense of BUCL's self-annihilating campaigns.

Most of its vaunted readership of 1500-3000 consists of googlers researching Cuba-related topics who stumble there by accident and stay "0" seconds. Who are they kidding?

Babaloo's Waterloos: Has There Been a Coup at Babalú?

Has there been a coup at Babalú blog? The long dormant or neutralized George Moneo has suddenly begun to blog furiously while the other editorialists are holding back (or being held back). George also has taken over The Babalu [Faux] Radio Hour and banished Henry from the show and even kept Val waiting on the phone for 15 minutes because he could. Is the monumental failure of BUCL's campaigns — which has brought so much discredit to Babalú that even its regular commenters have abandoned it in disgust — the reason that Henry has been shunted aside as Number 2?

Whatever his new role may be — the Raúl who subs for the ever ailing Val, whose hypochondria is one of the charms of Babalu? — George has taken over with a vengeance, relegating Cuba to the back of the bus while placing his Crusade Against Islamo-Fascism at the front alongside his Campaign to Canonize Ronald Reagan, the two passions of his warped life. When a commenter objected, and rightly so, that Reagan had done nothing for Cuba, Moneo roared back that Cuba did not matter in the great scheme of defeating Communism. This is what we have always suspected was Moneo's position. Cuba is a prop to him. Nothing he feels or loves.

Ronald Reagan, whom Moneo considers the greatest American president of his lifetime, did help to liberate the Western World from Communism, but appeared to forget that Cuba was also a part of the West. In fact, Reagan even sent General Vernon Waters to Cuba to talk detente with Castro and actually hoped to make Cuba his "China." As far as Cuba was concerned, Reagan was a complete accommodationist. He may not have been afraid of Gorbachev, but he was afraid of Castro. How ridiculous and inexplicable! All that Reagan did for us was to put frijoles negros on the White House menu and for this he is still idolized as a demigod by many of Más Canosa's crowd.

As he stated on The Babalu [Faux] Radio Hour yesterday, Moneo believes that "Jimmy Carter is the worst president of my lifetime and that's saying a lot considering we have Lyndon and Bubba [Clinton] to consider." George is 50 years old. His lifetime encompasses both Eisenhower, whose government handed Cuba over to Castro, and Kennedy, who betrayed the freedom fighters at the Bay of Pigs and codified that betrayal in the Kennedy-Khruschev Pact, wherein the U.S. agreed to act as the guarantor of Communism in Cuba (one treaty, at least, which the U.S. has kept even after ther implosion of the Soviet Union).

But, remember, George thinks and speaks as an American, not as a Cuban. George may well be the only Cuban his age who doesn't speak Spanish. This alone confirms how completely detached he is from his Cuban roots because this could not have been anything but a conscious choice on his part.

It is no secret to anyone that most Cubans consider JFK the worst U.S. president, not Jimmy Carter. As it happens, JFK's monumental ineptitude, which the Cuban crises gave him the chance to demonstrate in all its dimensions, makes Kennedy even a worse president than Warren G. Harding, who was corrupt (like Kennedy), dimwitted (like Kennedy), a satyr who turned the White House into a brothel (like Kennedy) but not ineffectual, nor an abettor of Communism, nor a threat to world peace.

Yes, John F. Kennedy was the worst American president as Cuban exiles were the first to see.

As for Jimmy Carter, he may have been a "horrible president," but he has been an even worse ex-president. As president, however, he admitted 125,000 Cuban refugeees into the U.S. within a matter of months without questioning their right to seek asylum here. What would Clinton have done with (or to) those 125,000? After he was booted from the presidency (for, among other reasons, giving the marielitos asylum), Carter became the marionette of Castro and every other America-hating despot, that is true. But his calamitous presidency will be judged by his tenure as president, not the prelude or the sequel to his presidency. All of Carter's good works with Habitat for Humanity will mean absolutely nothing in judging his presidential years, just as his shilling for despots after his presidency will not impact (how could it?) the fact that he was the second American president to be held hostage by a foreign government. The first, of course, was JFK, whom Nikita held more tightly by the balls than even the Ayatollah did Carter.

As for Lyndon B. Johnson, I recently posted a tribute to him on the occasion of Lady Bird's death in which I acknowledged the debt of gratitude that all Cubans owe him for opening the doors of liberty to us. I stated that LBJ was our Statue of Liberty, a man who understood the nature of Communism and who did not think that Cubans or the Vietnamese were unworthy of freedom. Moneo, who is free, like the rest of us, because of LBJ, reciprocated with a hate-filled post accusing Johnson of the usual "crimes" which appeasers and adherents of the Viet-Cong still level at him. For George, it doesn't matter that LBJ was the first U.S. president to make the Constitution protect all Americans regardless of color and the first to embrace the poor and marginalized and give them the tools (such as education grants) to improve their lot and realize the promise of America.

As for Bill Clinton, we are surprised that George also classes him among the worst American presidents of his lifetime since nothing that Clinton did can be said to be outside George's moral universe. In fact, at one time, George even supported the "Wet Foot/Dry Foot Policy," as did Val Prieto, as a means to exclude "undesirables" and even defended, as did Val Prieto, the Coast Guard's predations on the refugees.

Val Praises Fidel's "Charisma" and Moneo Calls Him "One of the Smartest Politicians Who Ever Lived"

Many people may not actually believe me when I say that no one desires more fervently than I that the Babalunians grow in wisdom and maturity and stop embarrassing the rest of us with their amateurishness and improvisation. But, in truth, I am their well-wisher, now and always. If I sometimes flog them with a belt, I never use the buckle end. Indeed, if I am to be faulted for anything, it is probably for my tendency to use more balm than leather, true, always, to Marti's legacy.

It is very different with them. Lately I've received credible reports of just how deeply Val & Company hate me. Generally speaking, people will hate someone who makes them look stupid more than they'll hate someone who bashes their heads with a brick. They hate me because I dare to criticize them. They hate me because I do it very well. But, mostly, they hate me because this blog shows others that they can challenge them, too. They could almost withstand the criticism if it came from any other pen but mine. But there is no answering me and they don't even try anymore after their esteemed leader attempted it and had to withdraw (that is, delete) his own comments within 3 hours of posting them and retreat again into silence. I think their strategy is to wait for me to disappear. In fact, I am not quite sure that if given a choice between funerals they would schedule Fidel's before mine. That is who they are. But, in my heart, there is only forbearance for their limitations and a desire to expand their knowledge and effectiveness. This, however, necessarily entails correcting their errors. There is no other way to open the path of truth to them.

I confess that I enjoy dissecting The Babalú [Faux] Radio Hour more than I do Babalú blog. The editorialists on Babalú are their studied selves. People are watching, you know. Hell, I'm watching! But no one is listening to the Babalú [Faux] Radio Hour so it is there that they can be their unstudied selves. That is, their real selves. And what a study in ignorance, pretentiousness and hubris Val, Henry & George are! ["Look ma, he's including me with Val & Henry!").

The 20th edition of their faux radio hour was unique in that George Moneo was the sole host. Val did call in as usual lately and complained that he was kept waiting on the line 15 minutes by Moneo. Henry was not heard or mentioned on the program. Perhaps he has had enough; we certainly have. The official guests on the show were CubaWatcher Anatasio Blanco (not his real name), who is so jealous of his privacy that he would not even confirm that he lived in the North East, and Uncommon Sense's Marc Masferrer, the Cuban blogosphere's only professional English-language journalist.

It was the first time that I had heard Marc and I was impressed by the fact that he did not say anything stupid. No, my expectations are not high. But how could they be after 20 weeks of hearing this crap drop? Marc is someone who is fair by nature, but, unfortunately, can be compelled to act contrary to his nature, which is sad. I will always be grateful to him for having linked to RCAB on his blog for about 2 weeks before being browbeaten by Val into severing the connection. But it was long enough for the Babalunians and future BUCLers to come on board and here they have remained like crows on a power line. Sampling the waters of tolerance again 2 weeks ago Marc linked to an article I wrote on Fred Thompson's anti-cubanism, but even though he took care to cover himself this time ["Here's a strongly worded, and well-crafted, reminder that Thompson and other candidates may disappoint when it comes to the Cuba-related interests of Cuban American voters. I just wish the writer wouldn't make it so much about something so petty, as well"], Val would still not allow even so frivolous a connection and ordered Marc to delete it from his blog. It always amazes me how superior men will pamper and placate inferior ones. But, then again, that is the history of the Cuban Revolution in a nutshell.

The program trodded along quite innocuously until Val erupted on the scene via telephone. It did not take him long to pronounce the most stupid and shameless paean that anyone can utter in praise of the tyrant. It was all the more astonishing because Val had actually delivered himself of an accurate assessment on how Castro had manipulated the media into believing and never questioning the lies pressed on them by his regime, which they in turn transformed into myths.

But Val himself believes the biggest myth of all: "The only thing he [Fidel] has is that affable character, that charisma that everybody talks about." Wow! Fidel has an "affable character?" Fidel is not even affable with his friends. In fact, the only thing more dangerous than being Fidel's enemy is being Fidel's friend. No man can be called "affable" whose presence every Cuban dreads as the Romans dreaded Caligula's. But even this is nothing compared to his allusion to "that charisma that everybody talks about." My God, when was the last time I heard anyone refer to Castro's "charisma?" It has been a while. Old people's "charisma" is not generally of interest to the world.

"Charisma," Val says. It must be wonderful to be able to use words with no inkling of what they mean. "Charisma," of course, means to possess an extraordinary power given to a Christian by the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church. Castro, in fact, is an anti-charismatic, since he serves another master and his actions profit only himself. There is no more obscene coupling than Castro and charisma. Are you unsure? Here's the other meaning of charisma: "Christ-like."

Not to be outdone since yesterday it was his show, Moneo chimed-in with the second most stupid thing said on the show last night: "I agree [with Val]. I've always said that he [Fidel] was one of the smartest politicians who ever lived — a master at doing what he's done." Wow. George too merits a "Wow!" So Fidel Castro, in George estimation, is not only a "politician" but "one of the smartest who ever lived!" So he's up there with Jefferson and Lincoln, right? Except — a very big except — that Castro is not a politician at all. It is impossible to be the only politician in a country because politics necessarily demands more than one. Castro is a dictator, a tyrant and a despot; and, at one time, was even a satrap; but he is no politician. And, since he is not a "politician" he cannot be be "one of the smartest." First you must belong to the species to claim to be a subspecies ("one of the smartest who ever lived"). And then there is that peculiar assertion that Fidel "is a master at doing what he's done." And what would that be? Destroy his country and the lives of his countrymen? I did not know that they gave a Master's degree in that or that having done so (that is, destroyed a country and its people) bestows upon a man the title of "master" in any sense.

So there you have it, in their own words, the sum and total of Val and George's knowledge of Castro. I only regret that Henry was not present because we could have depended upon him to up the ante.

After Val's call, more than half of BUCL converged on the show (maybe it was the 1st reunion of this defunct organization). One final observation: I think it's neat that there is an anti-Castro blogger who uses the expression "honky dorey" and another who uses "nigga" as a familiar form of address. The tent must always be made bigger, never smaller.

Observation Re Babalú

In no time at all, Gusano has become the finest writer at Babalú, leaving most of the others far behind. Val must be given credit for at least being able to bring new talent onboard even knowing it will eclipse him. Unfortunately, the new life that Gusano is bringing to Babalú George Moneo is sapping from it with his customary pedantry and racism.

So: plus one, minus one.

"Mambo" Watch "Honors" the Victims of the "13th of March" Tugboat

From "Mambo" Watch [July 16, 2007]:

To Those Who Were Innocent

This past Friday marked a day painfully etched in the collective memory of some Cuban-Americans: The Massacre of the 13th of March Tugboat.

For those who wish to know more about this horrible event can check two very thorough reports by:

- Amnesty International: The Sinking of the "13 de Marzo" Tugboat on 13 July 1994.

- (OAS) Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: Victims of the Tugboat "13 de Marzo" vs. Cuba.

Approximately thirteen years ago, on July 13, 1994, 72 Cubans emigrating their island nation, on a dilapidated tugboat named "13 de Marzo", were confronted at sea by Cuban authorities who proceeded to ram the stranded tugboat and use water cannons. 41 lives were lost.

According to Amnesty International:

"While acknowledging that those on board the '13 de Marzo' had committed a crime by stealing the tugboat, there is no evidence to suggest that they were armed or that they were in a position to offer any serious resistance to the pursuing vessels. Indeed, from many of the survivors’ accounts, it appears that their pleas to surrender and to be rescued may have been deliberately ignored. Amnesty International has therefore concluded that at the very least the force employed by the pursuing vessels to prevent the departure of the '13 de Marzo' was disproportionate to the nature of the crime, especially taking into account the risk to the lives of those on board the '13 de Marzo' who included women and children. The Cuban authorities have argued that those on board the pursuing vessels were dock workers acting on their own initiative and not government or law enforcement officials. However, several of the survivors have doubted this assertion and have alleged that the whole operation appeared to be coordinated and directed by radio from a coast guard vessel. The Cuban coast guard service falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior. Amnesty International believes that there is sufficient evidence to indicate that it was an official operation and that, if events occurred in the way described by several of the survivors, those who died as a result of the incident were victims of extrajudicial execution."

The Cuban government has stood firm in denying any responsibility for this event, and has also failed to conduct an impartial investigation in the face of international condemnation.

One of the most disappointing aspects of this event is the how the Cuban government and its information sources reported the incident:

"On 14 July 1994, the day after the tragedy, Granma, the official Communist Party newspaper, in an article entitled 'Capsized Tugboat robbed by Anti-Social Elements' described what happened as an 'irresponsible act of piracy promoted and stimulated by counter-revolutionary radio stations, the most reactionary elements of the [Cuban exile] nest of maggots in Miami, and by the well-known failure of the United States to abide by migration agreements.'"

This is language more suited for Saturday nights on Radio Mambi.

There are few words to say about such horrendous events, especially when there are powerful obstacles to find the truth.

"Speaking to the broken and the dead is too difficult for a mouth full of blood. Too holy an act for impure thoughts. Because the dead are free, absolute; they cannot be seduced by blitz. To speak to you [...] I must not claim false intimacy or summon an overheated heart glazed just in time for a camera. I must be steady and I must be clear, knowing all the time that I have nothing to say-no words stronger than the steel that pressed you into itself; no scripture older or more elegant than the ancient atoms you have become."

"The Dead of September 11"
By Toni Morrison
Written September 13, 2001

------

July also happens to mark another great tragedy.

On July 3, 1988, a US Navy warship Vincennes in the Persian Gulf shot down an Iranian civilian passenger jet after apparently mistaking it for an F-14 fighter.

Of the 290 passengers and crew killed, most were pilgrims heading toward Mecca. Iran said that the radio signals of the aircraft could not be mistaken for a fighter jet.

This post is dedicated to all innocent men, women and children who have died mercilessly and have not seen justice.


Pancho:

Well, I am now convinced. Despite all your protestations to the contrary, it is impossible for you to show any real sympathy for Castro's victims even if they are children and babies.

This post is literally dripping with insincerity from the first word to the last. So "some Cuban-Americans" — not all — mourned the Massacre of the 13th of March Tugboat? What did the others do? They didn't mourn it? Has any Cuban-American ever spoken one word of support for the Massacre? The Cuban regime and its apologists have spoken millions.

You also seem to believe that Granma is an honest purveyor of information, and when its mendacious report on the Tugboat Massacre does not quite live-up to your expectations, you accuse it of exhibiting conduct more reminiscent of Radio Mambí.

The difference, of course, is that you have the choice to listen to Radio Mambí or no. Cubans on the island have no choice. Granma is the only national newspaper and the organ of the Cuban Communist Party. Radio Mambí's talk shows present opinion which is labelled as opinion. Granma also presents opinion but calls it news. Can you even understand the difference?

Amnesty International is not much better than you. It "acknowledges" in its Report on the Massacre "that those on board the '13 de Marzo' had committed a crime by stealing the tugboat." Really? The children and babies, too? They were "criminals?" From whom was the tugboat stolen? The tugboat belonged to the Cuban people. The thief is the Castro regime which confiscated the property of the Cuban people and exploits their blood and sweat to finance the criminal enterprise otherwise known as the "Castro government."

I also find it highly offensive that you should quote the words of an apologist for the Castro regime, Toni Morrison, to honor the victims of Castro's Massacre.

Finally, your attempt to link an incident of war to a premeditated act of terrorism committed by the Castro regime against its own people is the ne plus ultra of cynicism and disingenuousness, which have always been the hallmarks of your writings on Cuba.

http://mambiwatch.blogspot.com/2007/07/to-those-who-were-innocent.html

Madhouse for the Stupid and Obnoxious

Who Shall Be Inducted First?

As if I need to ask.


Latest Intelligence: Ambassador Fantomas has fled across the border to Babalunia just ahead of the guys with the nets.


Later Intelligence: Fantomas is arrested at border under a charge of Treason for having continually asserted his independence from Val without Val's permission.

Still Later Intelligence: Fantomas is made a trustee in prison. At the first opportunity, he breaks the trust and runs away. Fantomas is at large.

Much Later Intelligence: The fugitive Fantomas re-enters RCAB territory as an illegal migrant.

Last Intelligence: Fantomas hides out in an empty building that turns out to be the RCAB Madhouse. Discovered, he is given asylum there as an inmate.

Fantomas is in The Madhouse.

RULES OF THE MADHOUSE

1). An inmate of The Madhouse may only comment in The Madhouse.

2). If an inmate attempts to comment anywhere else, his comments will be transferred to The Madhouse.

3). An inmate may petition for his release at any time subject to the approval of Vana and Agustin, Administrators of The Madhouse, who alone shall determine whether he has been restored to sanity and civility.

Tocororo Speaks Again

[When I heard the news of Tocororo's death, my first reaction was to search the internet for his blog. But Spanglish a lo cubano had disappeared without a trace, as if it had never existed. Killcastro and Charlie Bravo were also searching on their own, but encountered the same luck as I did. Killcastro explained that Tocororo had deleted his blog in a moment of despair, thinking perhaps, as Bolívar did, that he had ploughed the seas. It is not surprising that such a humble man should think so little of what others valued highly. His death, however, made the recovery of his writings a debt of honor for all who cherished them and their author. Nothing ever dies in cyberspace and I believe that eventually it will be possible to unearth and preserve his entire legacy for all Cubans and particularly for his own children. As they grow older his writings will become a passageway into the mind and heart of their noble father.

This is what remains: one of a dozen posts, saved by the Web Archive (or Wayback Machine) as it crawled cyberspace. One of many pages but all that remains for now. Sadly, Tocororo's words are all to true today and hold valuable lessons for us. We have reproduced it exactly as we found it:]

Thursday, December 15, 2005
the plague

Since the beginning of civilization we always had plagues, many plagues had torture the earth, many have come and go, and others come and go and reappear again to cause more trouble.

The only plague that has managed to stay with us and disguising herself as a truthful human is the snitch plague.

I have suffer at first hand the destructive power of the chivatos,the lingering battle between the good and the evil in Cuba can’t never be won until that plague comes near extinction.

The chivatos are responsible for most of the cubano suffering, in fact; the old cock sucker will have fall long time ago without the help of los chivatos.

I picture him with out the chivas a marionette with broken strings.

The snitch has no friends, no family, and no morals.

Thousands incarcerated and murdered due to the chivatos sneaky activities.

Many more of the chivatos penetrate the resistance; they become leaders to their fellow fighters, and when they strike, the whole cell ends up in jail doing 20 years or plus.

That is why my friends Cubans are so mistrustful, paranoid and afraid.

Many of the chivas sometimes change their minds and decide they have cause enough damage or le han pisado un callo y brincan and next thing you know, the chiva is living in the states.

Rats nothing more than rats, when they don’t find that piece of cheese, they move to the next door basement.

http://web.archive.org/web/20051216135613/http://spanglishalocubano.blogspot.com/

Another "Lost" Post by Tocororo

From Spanglish a lo cubano:

Wednesday, December 07, 2005
un pedazo quedo en mi cuba

Yesterday was one crazy day. The first thing that happen to me was that I was talking to a good friend of mine about cuba and the good things that the blogers are doing in the net against castro.

This guy was amazed about the things that are happening on the net against cagastro.
And he said to me – this stuff that you doing is dangerous verdad?

Yo solo lo mire y le dije tomas …esta gente acabaron con my childhood...this people seed it the hatred in me since I was a little boy ..why I am going to be afraid? I suffer so much for nine years …they grab me by the hand when I was 6 years old and they call me gusano ….when I watch my dad get arrested for no reason …que mas me van a quitar ..no pueden quitarme nada porque ellos fueron los que me enseñaron a odiarlos …yo vi a mi abuelo morir por culpa de ellos sin ver tierras de libertad. I really avoid to talk about that but some how he understood.

then the same day I was jogging and some guy with the che t shirt was running along me and I made a comment to my friend about el che, I was not even talking to this particular shit head and the fucking guy call me a capitalistic rich asshole, and I lose my temper I ran towards him y lo jale por la camisa and I challenge him to fight me, well he did not fight me, he walk away but I am the kind of Cuban que no habla mucho ..bastante pase yo en mi tierra pa quedarme callao ahora como un comemierda.

http://web.archive.org/web/20051216135613/http://spanglishalocubano.blogspot.com/

A New Low in Babalú's Decline

Where Have All the Babalunians Gone?

In what must be a new low in the decline of the "dean of Cuban-American blogs," Babalú has received a total of 44 comments for its last 20 posts. Nine of the 20 posts received 0-1 comments.

I would advise those who think that RCAB has no readers to scramble over to Babalú and leave some comments because they desperately need you. Now.

If such a fate had befallen the Review, I would close this blog.

Tocororo Libre Died A Hero

When I wrote my tribute to Tocororo, I asked two things: that is name be made known and his work conserved. We owed, I thought, no less to such a man who exemplified in his short life an ennobling and selfless love of country.

Well, we have learned his name and the circumstances of his death. His name was Hugo Valdés, a resident of Union City, NJ. And he drowned saving the life of his 10-year-old son, in Myrtle Beach, SC. on July 4th. Add to that the fact that Tocororo suffered from glaucoma and was nearly blind and the picture is finally complete of this moral giant.

It is said that the elements of our death are found in our lives. Tocororo loved the ocean and all its creatures. For him, it was the ocean that connected him to our lost country and it was through that passage that he returned to it, much, much too soon to satisfy any sense of justice, but at the time and place where the sacrifice of his life was the most meaningful. The tragedy is that Tocororo died. The blessing is that he did not die in vain.

I actually read the story of his death in the local newspaper and was deeply moved by it even without making the connection that the hero was Tocororo. What really can one say? It is a Greek tragedy and also the Christian story of redemption. The greatest, purest love in life calls forth the greatest sacrifice. Can there be a death more natural and more human? Can there be a greater vindication of man's innate nobility or more convincing proof that man, created in God's image, like God is capable of perfect love?

We extend our condolences to his wife of 12 years, Marelys Valdés, his three children Belinda (6), Teresa (5) and David (10), his parents and all his family.

http://ademas-ac.blogspot.com/

The Madhouse

Fantomas is Val & Company's ambassador to the Review of Cuban-American Blogs. He used to be also the Minister Plenipotentiary from BUCL until its late implosion. You know what they say about ambassadors: they are the people that the ruler wants out of the country.

I have respected fantomas' diplomatic credentials, even if I chose not to appoint an ambassador to represent RCAB's interests in the wastelands of Babalunia. But Fantomas, as he has amply demonstrated here, is no diplomat. In fact, it would be hard to conceive of anyone who is less qualified by temperament or education to be an ambassador. We could, of course, declare him persona non grata and banish him from our domain. But we are not Babalú. RCAB is a republic of ideas and so it will remain. However, as some of our most respected citizens have pointed out, fantomas is clearly not in possession of his mental faculties and may constitute a danger to himself and others. It is for this reason that we have been obliged to establish a Madhouse in our community.

Fantomas has been in the habit of making outrageous, insulting and threatening statements here which he later would delete when he was briefly restored to sanity (or what passes for sanity with fantomas). As it would go against our principles and the very rationale for this blog to censor, delete or ban him, and since his spells of sanity have become rarer and rarer every day and I can no longer depend on him to police himself, I have no choice but to isolate and contain the virus (as mental illness will some day be shown to be).

The Madhouse will open for business when fantomas makes his next obscene, deranged or threatening comment. Those so inclined can visit The Madhouse at any time and commune with its inhabitant(s) if they so desire.

Today, incidentally, is Bastille Day, and it was precisely the anniversary of this calamitous event which gave me the idea for The Madhouse; for when the rabble "liberated" the Bastille they found it populated by just one homicidal madman, whom, of course, they quickly set free, foreshadowing the insanity that was soon to grip all of France.

Our Madhouse will not be subject to attack and will be secure at all times. You can feel as safe there as at a zoo. Buckets will be made available with which to splash the inmates with ice water in the hope of snapping them back to reality.

BUCL (2007-2007)

Since I pointed out to them in the beginning that the acronym BUCL (pronounced BUCKLE) means "surrender," The BUCLers have dreaded having their organization referred to as BUCKLE, and, yet, nonetheless, that's what everybody called it from the onset. Now, on the eve of BUCL's demise, the superannuated BUCLers are finally calling it what everybody else calls it: BUCKLE. Even Henry referred to it as such on The Babalu (Faux) Radio Hour this week.

We have had several decent and honorable people die this week. And one scoundrel, which was not even an incorporated organizational entity.

Ignominous in conception, calamitous in execution and barren in results, BUCL will go to its grave mourned by no one, not even its acolytes, who are really more relieved than saddened by its implosion.

Let us stand up and give Henry a round of applause for knowing how to do something that most men are fain to do — quit.

BUCL (2007-2007)
Unmourned, Unloved and Under.
R.I.P.

BUCL's Last Hurrah

Well, it is over. Or at least that's what BUCL's unelected leader declared in the latest edition of The Babalu (Faux) Radio Hour. The 2nd Campaign has followed the first into the dustbin of history, another exercise in empty if earnest bravado which, in the end, signified nothing. After the monumental failure of its first campaign, BUCL became somewhat less ambitious. The Campaign Against Spain sought to bring a nation to its knees; the 2nd Campaign limited its scope to three or four addlebrained Britons. Well, they didn't BUCL either but remained true to their lifelong Marxist convictions. It was not enough for Henry that these men were hypocrites, long past their prime and virtually unknown among our countrymen; the kind of spokesmen that should be shunned rather than courted. Henry had this infantile obsession with bringing his childhood idols to the cause, much as if Jose Marti had misdirected his efforts towards getting "La Belle Otero" (the Spanish dancer of Verse IX of the Versos sencillos) to make a declaration in favor of Cuban independence.

Sting and The Police in the person of Andy Summers would not budge even when confronted by Henry and his incendiary device (the vigil candle which he admits he was holding when he approached the dimunitive Summers in the restaurant foyer). Fate gave him the opportunity to make his pitch to one of the band members in person; proobably the 63rd or 84th pitch which guitarist Andy Summers heard that day and distinct from the others only because it was not a business proposition. But no luck. Even if Henry had been 1000 times more persuasive, he could not have moved them. Unless you are carrying a suitcase of cash it is unlikely that these "humanitarians" could be moved to assist a blindman across the street, or even to tell their chauffeur to swerve in order to miss him.

Having failed to move their hearts, Henry next attempted to shame them into doing the right thing. Sting and The Police being as shameless as they are, this was quite a tall order. But the banner was painted and the airplane leased, so what the heck. He rubbed the BUCL banner in their faces in the middle of their Miami concert, unaware, perhaps, that these drugged-out sexagenerians were lucky not to fall off the stage and could certainly not be expected to read a banner at 200 feet let alone 2000; for them, the banner, if they saw it at all, was a weird-looking cloud, recumbant eye-chart or a tickertape in the sky with diamonds. It would actually be worse if Sting and The Police had actually managed to read it, for then their non-reaction was an intentional rebuff of the BUCLers and the Cuban cause, purchased and paid for by the BUCLers themselves. At least Henry didn't waste his time or BUCL's money printing up flyers for the concert-goers, who were probably in as "confused" a state as Sting and Police, having just paid $250 to discover that you can't go home again, that youth and their youthful illusions are dead.

It was pointed out to us that on the Pérez Roura Show over Radio Mambí Henry had agreed to a boycott of Sting and The Police if they failed to live up to their good opinion of them. It is well that he has left bad enough alone. To continue this charade would have bordered on the masochistic.

Henry says that he will take 2 weeks off before the start of the Third Campaign. He should take 2 months off or better yet 2 years. Perhaps by then the next campaign may not be necessary or he will finally have grown up. In this time of reflection, however, Henry should consider a campaign to democratize BUCL. Martí founded his own "BUCL" 116 years ago (the PRC) which differed from Henry's organization only in that it was successful. But Marti did not ordain himself leader by divine right but was elected and re-elected by by its members. Now I have no doubt that the 6 or so members of BUCL would elect Henry Gomez Grand Puma or anything else he wanted (hopefully not Delegate). Even if it's only pro forma Henry should submit his leadership to the will of its members (if we may still use the plural in relation to its membership). Having established his democratic bona fides Henry can then preach democracy to the Cuban people. The last thing that the Cuban people need is another caudillo (though, thankfully, Henry would make the most risible caudillo in history).

So, Henry, my advice to you is to get on your white horse — which hopefully won't BUCL — and ride off into the sunset or twilight or whatever you think best becomes you.


POSTSCRIPT:

Do your funny bone a favor and listen to this week's canned Babalú [Faux] Radio Hour. It was the funniest one to date with the BUCLERS trying to credit Henry with BUCL's "success," and Henry, angrily, trying his best to evade their praise.

Lady Bird Johnson (1913-2007)

Claudia Alta Johnson, best known as Lady Bird, the worthy wife of a great American and the most successful first lady of modern times, has passed away.

We refer our readers to the tribute we wrote when we heard the news of her illness.

May she rest in peace.

http://reviewofcuban-americanblogs.blogspot.com/2007/06/lyndon-baines-johnson-our-statue-of.html