July 09, 2004
MESSAGE FOR FIDEL
KISS MY ASS YOU BEARDED COMMIE BITCH.
Sorry for the vulgarity folks, but it just feels so damn good to say that.
Try it, you'll see.
Declaration
Since the media only seems to criticize President Bush's tightening of restrictions against Cuba, and since I am but one voice in favor of said restrictions, I want to post the following declaration from the Net For Cuba International Organization to assure you that I am not alone in my convictions.
DECLARATION FROM NET FOR CUBA INTERNATIONAL
We, signatories of this declaration, Cubans living in Exile and Directors of NET FOR CUBA INTERNATIONAL, having read the new restrictions on Cuba, recently announced by the White House, unanimously agree as follows:DECLARATION
That in recent days, The Administration of the President of the United States George W. Bush publicly announced the implementation of new regulations, dedicated fundamentally to reduce the funds that the Castro regime uses to control and enslave the Cuban people as a whole.
That, the measures adopted by President Bush, corresponds to the historic position maintained by a great majority of our people inside the Island as well as in the "diáspora" ,for more than 40 years, to maintain and increase the economic sanctions against the Cuban dictatorship;
Therefore, each one of us understands, and is fully aware that for the past 45 years, Cuba has fallen victim of a destructive political, social and economic system; that not only has it stripped the Cuban people of all of their civil, political, and economic liberties recognized by the international community, but rather it has turned one of the most affluent and prosperous countries in Latin America, in one of the poorest and famished of the world;
That, we have watched with bewilderment and pain, Cubans in the exile community, openly oppose the above mentioned measures, not taking into consideration the fact that the fate of 12 million of human beings that deserve to flourish in a free society with rights, depend on the ousting of the Castro regime, to be able to fulfill their aspirations and dreams.
Also, we have read with indignation in “Granma” the Cuban Communist Party the official online newspaper their rhetorical position under the headline: "They reject Bush aggressions against Cuba, dated in Havana, June 19 the 2004, (http://www.granma.cu/espanol/2004
/junio/sab19/aumenta.html) , the Cuban government assumed a position of concern for the unity of the Cuban family, when in fact that regime has always been that the only responsible party for the separation destruction and death of the Cuban family.Therefore, in light of this article, we find ourselves in need of asking the Cuban government the following questions: When in 45 years of a totalitarian dictatorship, have you ever come forward, dictator Fidel Castro, as spokesperson of the interest of the Cuban family? When have you ever cared Sir, for a mother that has lost her son at sea trying to escape from your “beautiful paradise”, or for the father whose son was murdered by a firing squad, or was disappeared by you Sir? Have you felt no shame to stand in a public podium and pretend sympathize sentimentally with an exile community that for over four decades you constantly insult, condemn, and constantly deceive, labeled as :”terrorist mafia”, “worms”, “scum” and “anti-social”? Just to name a few. In one of your recent public appearances, you blatantly begged the exile community to send $100.00 per month to their relatives in Cuba, further stating that said amount would cover the basic necessities a human being need to survive such as food, personal toiletries, The basic necessities that your "triumphant Revolution" has never been able to provide for the Cuban people, but according to you, could be solved for the people by those who you label “The Miami terrorist mafia”.
Since, we understand that dreams cannot come true without sacrifices, we exhort every Cuba of good will, in Cuba as well as abroad, to take conscience and to support every effort geared to resolve the basic problem of not only a 10, 15, or 20 percent of the people temporarily, but that resolves the basic problem of the Cuban Nation as a whole once and for all.
For all of the above mentioned, NET FOR CUBA INTERNATIONAL as an organization ,supports, promotes encourages the new restrictions imposed on the Cuban Government and encourages any other regulation that may be deemed necessary for the purpose of accelerating the liberation process, true freedom, justice and prosperity for all the Cubans.
Ahmed Y. Martel, Lourdes Pagani, Daisy Ortiz, Karel Roberto
Sacrebleu!
A 95 year old Cuban exile filed suit against Club Med for making millions off of confiscated property in Cuba.
Elvira de la Vega Glen, of Miami, and her son Robert Glen, 60, of Plano, Texas, said Club Med built a 337-room, five-star resort on undeveloped beachfront owned by her family for decades until it was seized shortly after the 1959 revolution.
Imagine a property your family has had for generations being taken away from you and used to make money for the very same people that took it away from you, because you know that Club Med wasnt the only one profitting from that resort.
The lawsuit claims the French company "unjustly enriched" itself by using an illegally confiscated property to make money. The family's lawyer, Stuart Newberger, said the lawsuit had not made a specific claim for monetary damages but sought access to Club Med's books to find out exactly how much the company made on the property."Anything they got illegally, we are entitled to get," he said.
I absolutely love it. Sticking it to the French always makes me happy.
Batiswho?
Castro apologists bring up Batista's govenrment, and its abuse of the poor and working class, as a point when defending La Revolucion. Because, you know, Fidel would never mistreat the poor working class in the Worker's Paradise.
Apparently, though, history repeats itself:
HAVANA, July 7 (Moisés Leonardo Rodríguez, Grupo Decoro / www.cubanet.org) - Amid a massive display of force, authorities evicted a number of people in several families June 30, apparently in order to clear a slum known as Bachiplan on the road between Casablanca and the Bahía neighborhood in Regla municipality.Sixty police officers in four cars and a troop transport, eight officers from the Department of State Security in motorcycles and three ambulances showed up early and by 9 a.m. they had arrested three persons who opposed the eviction; two women and a man, Juan Bermúdez, a government opponent who had assumed the leadership of the residents.
Bermúdez' wife, Nery Castillo, ran into some woods after her husband was arrested and police say they haven't been able to find her. Castillo is eight months pregnant and had just checked out of a hospital the day before upon receiving news of the eviction.
Most of those evicted said they were going to seek refuge in a church to which they belong, where they intend to stay until authorities heed their pleas.
After the eviction, authorities demolished the existing structures in Bachiplan.
Maybe Fidel and Co. needed the land for a new tourist attraction.
July 08, 2004
Congress Backs Fidel Castro
This basically says "Let's allow Americans to sell and send things to the Cuban government, DESPITE the fact that that same government systematically imprisons dissenting voices and in some cases starves them to near death while they are in prison."
I'm sure these Congressmen that voted to overturn the restrictions are patting themselves on their backs, naively believing they have done something for the "common" good. They have, in fact, done the exact opposite by giving the Castro regime more fodder for it's socialist propaganda.
What pathetic, out of touch, self-righteous fools.
While in Cuba....
July 13th marks the anniversary of the sinking of the tugboat called "13 de Mayo" in Cuba. 35 Cubans died at the hands of Fidel Castro's henchmen simply for wanting to be free of his repression.
I'm sure there's no tourist museum there for that particular even in Castro's Cuba History.
That Fabulous Cuban Health Care
HAVANA, July 6 (José Antonio Fornaris, Cuba Verdad / www.cubanet.org) - A 69-year-old woman died after waiting five hours for an ambulance to take her to the hospital.Delfina Fundora checked into the Managua polyclinic Thursday with what doctors called an ischemic attack. Medical personnel called for an ambulance to transport Fundora to the hospital, but ambulance central said at the time that they had no vehicles available.
Fundora waited from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. for an ambulance to show up and suffered a second attack while waiting. She died before finally arriving at the hospital.
July 07, 2004
TRAVELING TO CUBA?
Much ado about the Pastors for Peace Caravan traveling to Cuba on their yearly humanitarian mission today. News alerts about it all over the place.
Meanwhile, on the island, Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, Cuba's most prominent Christian dissident prisoner, has not been given food since JUNE 17. No explanation, no I'm sorry's, no nada. They have simply stopped giving him food. No sustenance.
They are starving him to death simply because he had the wherewithall to assert his voice.
And Pastors for Peace, Americans defying the travel restristions, assholes against the embargo, and OTS suffering American medical students get all the news coverage while a man of conviction rots away in a fucking jail cell without a damn thing to fucking eat.
Keep traveling to Cuba you bleeding heart self serving liberal leftist moral equivalence spewing sorry excuses for human beings.
En la vida, todo se paga. Hijos de la gran puta.
All Fat, All the Time
I dont know if any of you all have noticed but, man, Michael Moore is fat.
Really fat.
Why?
Why is it, despite being able to trade with every conutry in the world, except the US, that there are still food shortages in Cuba?
Why is it, despite a thriving tourist industry, that there are food shortages in Cuba?
Whys is it that there is every kind of food available in Cuba's toruists hotels, yet there are still food shortages for the people of Cuba?
Why is it, despite the fact that Castro's plan was to eliminate all US interests in the Cuba, that he now complains about new restrictions agaisnt the island?
Why is it, if you search google news on cuba, almsot every single article is about the travel restrictions against the island, and not about the injustices happening on the island itself?
I will be adding to this post as the day progresses.
July 06, 2004
It's all about the HATE
I received a response from Mr. Herman of CubaExchange.org regarding my email to him posted in the Pioneros Amricanos entry.
I'll will just post the entire email as I responded line by line (Mr. Herman's quotes are in italics):
Tom,I found it easier to respond to your response on a line by line basis.
Thanks for your perspective. I think you might be surprised by many of the answers to your questions. Although they seem rhetorical in so far as it seems like you think you already know the answers...
Tom, I dont know all the answers nor do I pretend to know them. I do know that while you may do a world of good for your American students, these trips can be detrimental to Cuban students. Not solely because of the money spent in Cuba which furthers the communist system, but once you and your students leave their lives go back to the status quo and then they, and you and your students, are used as propaganda to show the world the wonders of cuba's communist system.
First, our students start in Miami where they engage with the local Cuban community to learn about the Cuban-American perspective. They visit a radio station, meet families at a community center, and generally prepare for their trip.
Your website made no mention of this. I am curious as to what radio station and community center is visited. I would also love to witness such visits if at all possible.
There is no question that we do not live in an ideal world, but certainly there is no better way to learn about both the good and the bad about Cuban then by seeing it first hand. Obviously everyone has a different perspective and most of our students go to Cuba with a negative perspective on Castro.
Every time a tourist or student travels to Cuba, Fidel Castro and his regime are afforded more money to maintain its power over the people. What is the student's perspective on Castro like once they leave?
As for the mis-naming of our program, there is an exchange of values and ideals. They may not be your ideas and values, but they are values and ideals. Apparently you'd be surprised what some of the teenagers that our group meets thinks about their country and our country. You may think that Cuba is currently a terrible place under Castro (this may be true), I think that our country (USA) is a terrible place under our war monger president. At least Castro is only killing innocents in his own country. Bush is killing innocents here and abroad.(emphasis mine)
Your program is mis-named. The mere fact that Cuban students aren't allowed to come to the US on a par with American students traveling there proves this. There really is no equal "exchange" of ideals. Send 25 students from Cuba here to the states without repercussions to their families should they want to stay and I guarantee you that most if not all would stay in a heartbeat.
I certainly hope you do not use the term "warmonger" in your class or with your students when referring to the President of the United States. He is the president of your country and thus merits respect, regardless of your opinion on him. And I hardly think that liberating the people of Iraq from a sadistic murderous tyrant can be construed as "warmongering." You should definitely read a few of the Iraqi bloggers if you think for one moment that they are not glad the US did the morally correct thing to do and remove Saddam from power.
Saying that Cuba "may be" a terrible place under Castro is not only an understatement, but a reflection of your political inclination. Comparing the atrocities commited by Castro's regime with Bush's invasion of Iraq is unsubstantiated standard leftist boilerplate argument. If you truly believe that Bush is purposely killing innocents here and abroad, there is no hope for you of understanding reality. I truly believe you are a socialist.
Again, in your immediate jumping to conclusions, you failed to ask if we DO have Cubans come to the United States as part of this CubaExchange and in fact we do. We run a summer camp and we have students and staff here from all around the world every summer. Last summer we represented more than 30 countries including Cuba.
Just how many Cuban students did you have? And were they actually from Cuba or were they kids from Cuban diplomats and such stationed outside the island?
Of course you are correct that people in Cuba need to be careful about what they say. Especially publicly and in front of a video camera, but you might be happy to hear what some of our American students said in a very outspoken way about the Castro dictatorship. This was at least a chance for the Cuban students to hear that perspective.
For all your study of the Cuban culture and language, I think you have no idea of the Cuban heart and mentality. Im sure a good portion of the Cuban students were listening to those outspoken comments from the American students and thinking "Yeah. You re right, Castro sucks. You can say it, but I cant. Why dont you shut up and just help me?"
Our students DO go out and do agricultural service in the country side. They do it with the Cuban students.
And you find no problem with this? You find no problem with compulsory agricultural service for children???? They are kids, Tom, not slaves.
In fact our students did bring the US Constitution and did discuss the 1st amendment and there was no problem w/ our faculty or with the Cuban faculty that joined us.
When you discussed the first ammendment, was there any mention of the 75 journalists currently serving time in Castro's prisons? Did you explain to these Cuban students that the encarceration of a journalist for political reasons is something that would never, ever happen in the states? I highly doubt it.
As for the tuition, most of it goes to us. This is a very profitable program for us... Capitalism, I guess, but the cost of housing and other services from the Ministry of Education is a great bargain for us. As to the inequality of what our wealthy American students pay compared with what a Cuban father might earn in 5 years, you're right it's a terrible in justice. It's not unique to Cuba though. George Bush has made a policy of increasing the disparity between the haves and the have nots. Bush himself said to the wealthy patrons at a recent fundraiser, "There are the have's and the have nots, some call you the have-more's, but I call you my base." Poverty in Cuba has as much to do with George Bush and our American system as it does with Castro.
You keep mentioning George Bush in this conversation and I want to point out, once again, that this isnt about George Bush. It's about Cuba. Cuba was doomed to poverty back on January 1st, 1959. Stop blaming the world's ills on George Bush, Tom. You know this simply is not true. It's pathetic, especially coming from a teacher. George Bush has money. So what. He inherited it. So what. John Kerry MARRIED into it. I dont know of a more pathetic and unmanly way to get rich than that. Please, keep Bush out of it.
As if it's Bush's fault that Fidel Castro pays his slaves a meager wage. Sheesh.
Dont you find it a bit hypocritical of you to be stating that Bush is "a have" and in the same paragraph say that your program is very profitable for you? I do.
As far as taking a day away from the classroom, I am NEVER in the classroom. Our educational programs are 100% experiential. They never happen in the classroom. There is a large amount of reading in our Cuba Reader that covers prisons, politics, prostitution, and more. All the students read this before they go to Cuba so they have a broad perspective for their experience.
I would love to read one of your readers to see exactly what it is that's discussed in reference to these subjects. A cursory view at best Im sure.
The emphasis is not Salsa, although that is a wonderful cultural heritage that all Cubans both here and in Cuba can be proud of. Like Reggae, it has had a profound influence on world music. This has nothing to do with Bush or Castro. There's no reason to be down on or negative about Cuban music.
Trust me Tom, I can dance circles around your best dancer. I grew up with 7 aunts, and if you ever dance with one, you have to dance with all of them. What you fail to understand here is that this music, this cuban rythm, is one of the last exports Fidel Castro has in order to bring money, via sales and tourism, to Cuba. How come noone ever heard of Cuban music back when the Soviets subsidized Castro?
The emphasis of the program, if there is one, is Spanish Language acquisition. Again, nothing political about this. Spanish is one of the 3 most important languages in the world today.
Spanish can be learned in many places other than Cuba. You do not need to travel to a communist nation in order to learn a language. As a matter of fact, Cuban Spanish is not even proper spanish, its a dialect. You would do your students better if you took them to Spain.
I'm not sure why you think we promote Castro's agenda. I personally don't, I don't think a single one of our students has ever come back from Cuba with positive feelings about Castro, but rather with the realization that there are many, many wonderful people in Cuba yearning for freedom. That is what I learned when I visited.
I think you promote Castro's agenda because you travel to the island and spend dollars there. This props up not just Castro, but will enable his successor to maintain the dogmatic grip on the people of Cuba. Something else that is lost on you completely is that you allow yourself and your students to be part and parcel of Castro's propaganda machine. Every single time a group a students from the US travels to Cuba, it is headlined in Granma International, Castro's party rag. The education system in Cuba lauds itself by using you. I ask you, what good is 100% literacy if you cant read anything and everything you want?
Maybe you and I disagree on the best way to achieve this, but I don't think isolation worked in China and I don't think it's the best, fastest, or most effective way of changing Cuba either.
This is a common misconception you make here. When Castro came into power, he nationalized all American businesses and removed all American interests from the island. This is what Fidel Castro wanted, this is what he got. And now that he doesnt have the Soviets backing him up economically and militarily we are all supposed to feel sorry for him? Boohoo.
In any case, I think you and I have the same ultimate goal for Cuba. Freedom and freedom from Castro.
Same goal, perhaps. But supplying Castro with more dollars certainly isnt going to get you there.
Instead of insulting me and suggesting that I am immoral, maybe you could make some suggestions for how we could improve our program. Our organization is committed to learning by traveling to other countries and having foreigners visit us here. Cuba is a country that badly needs our attention.
Forgive me if I insulted you, but your "despite Bush" comment insulted me. I was brought up to respect my president. Like I said, your organization is pretty perfect in an ideal world, but in some cases, such a Cuba's, you do more harm than good.
Thanks for your dialogue,
BTW, how did you find me in order to send me the original email?
Now, I responded line by line to each of his points and I recieved only this afterwards:
I have no responsibility to respect our president any more than any Cuban has any responsibility to respect Castro. GW strikes me as a blathering idiot. He stole the election in 2000, I didn't vote for him, he's been terrible for the vast majority of the population of this country. And, he's a liar on important matters that go way beyond Clinton's blowjobs. Finally, you MUST agree that there is NOTHING unpatriotic about not liking your country's leader. You were "brought up to respect your president". Is that what you think Cubans in Cuba should do too? Respect Fidel because he's their president? I found you on google.
So you see, it isnt about teaching high school kids about Cuban culture and language and politics. It's all about hatred for GW Bush and adoration for Fidel Castro. That's what it all comes down to in the end.
I told Mr. Herman to look for me at Miami International Airport on his cubaexchange departure date. I will be the one leading the protest, because as a Cuban I must, and as an American I can.
Thanks to Steve,Zomby, Michele, Jay, Sharp as a Marble, and TC for helping spread the word.
Pioneros Americanos
The following is an email I received yesterday that made my blood boil. It's from a Mr. Tom Herman from Interlocken.org promoting a program they have called CubaExchange.
I thought you'd be interested in our trip to Cuba. We have 25 American high school students going to cuba to live with Cuban students and learn about their culture, politics, and language. We have a great documentary video about the program too and we're still going this summer, despite Bush.-tj
Here is my response, "despite Bush":
Mr. Herman,
I commend you for your effort with teaching American high school students about other cultures, politics and languages through your exchange program. In an ideal world a program such as yours would prove to be an invaluable educational tool. The only true way to learn about and understand different cultures is to fully immerse oneself in them.
However, when it comes to Cuba, I feel you do your students a great disservice as we do not live in an ideal world. In an ideal world, while you send 25 high school students to live with Cuban families, a Cuban instructor very much like yourself would be able to send 25 of his students to live with American families. Thus, your currently mis-named program, CubaExchange, would depict a true exchange of values and ideals and students. Unfortunately, and despite President Bush, this is an impossibility. Under the current system of government in Cuba, there is no true free exchange of ideas and ideals.
After visiting your website I see no mention as to who decides which Cuban families will be honored with the presence of your students. Undoubtedly, these Cuban families will be chosen by the Ministry of Education and since, as in all aspects of Cuban life, this Ministry is but an arm of the ruling Communist party, your students will be privy to exactly what that party chooses to show them. I wonder if during their stay, your students will be taken to the fields for the compulsory agricultural labor that all Cuban children are subjected to. Perhaps they may even be allowed sit in on classes where they are taught the evils of capitalism and the imperialist United States of America.
You should encourage your students to each bring along a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States so that they may share these openly in a Cuban classroom. Cuban students should know about the freedoms afforded us in our First ammendment. I am sure that the faculty of the school as well as the Ministry officials will have absolutely no problem with this, yours is, after all, an exchange program, despite President Bush.
I also noticed that the tuition fee for your program is $4995. How much of that goes to the Ministry of Education? How much of it goes to travel expenses? Since you have been so kind as to email me because you thought Id be interested in your program, could you please be so kind as to offer a breakdown as to where these moneys go? Also, it would probably be a good idea to let the Cuban students and their families know exactly how much each American student paid for their exchange program, thus allowing for more openness between the two cultures. I wonder how a father of a Cuban student might feel knowing he is housing an American student whose two-week trip costs more than what the father has made in the past 5 years of hard labor.
You may want to take a day away from the classroom and beaches and picnics and visit a few of the prisons where Cuban dissidents and journalists and political prisoners are held. See firsthand the conditions they live under and why they are imprisoned. That particular day can be called "Prisoner of Conscience" day at Cubaexchnage. Make sure all your students bring their video cameras as the video for presentations taken that day will be of great value to your program and your website. Perhaps you can even sell those particular videos at $29.95 instead of $19.95.
Will there be time in your curriculum to visit with other Cuban teenagers? Teenagers forced into prostitution because, despite the fact that they have a 100% literacy rate and despite President Bush, they have no other recourse for survival but to sell their bodies to tourists?
I read in your website where there is an emphasis on Salsa dancing and cuban rythms. This is, as I see it, a very important and key part of your curriculum. This is where your American students will learn the most. They will, like you, know exactly how to dance around the true issues.
I would welcome any exchange with Cuba, as long as Cuba is able to share with us the true voice of her people and her culture, not the high-pitched ranting of one man and an ideology - which you seem fixated on promoting - based on oppression.
You state in your email that you are going to Cuba "despite Bush." I submit to you sir, that you are going to Cuba despite Castro. You are going to Cuba despite her people's lack of basic human rights and dignity. You are going to Cuba despite the tens of thousands of dead Cubans who died at the very hands of the government your money will be going to. You are going to Cuba despite the countless Cubans who died at sea in make shift rafts searching for the very freedom you have. You are going to Cuba despite what is right. You are going to Cuba despite the men and women who rot away in jails simply for expressing their opinions and thoughts.
You are going to Cuba despite any and all morality.
Sincerely,
Val Prieto
UPDATE: I received a response and will post the response to the response to the response in a new entry. Stayed tuned folks, it gets good.
Tourism Under New Management
"Raul (Castro) and the military have taken over tourism, the country's most important sector, and his men control basic industry and many other positions," one European ambassador said.