Val and I are proud to be representing Babalú today at the Hispanic Leadership Network Conference. We are rubbing elbows with the veritable who's who of political movers and shakers and elected leaders, hoping no one figures out who we really are and we end up getting kicked out.

For obvious reasons, posting will be light today.

"Fidel Castro is courtly–even paternal, a thoroughly fascinating figure!”

Our friends at Newsbusters report how Andrea Mitchell sneers at the "Anti-Castro vitriol" by the Candidates in Florida:

A disgusted Andrea Mitchell on Thursday decried the "anti-Castro vitriol" coming from Republican presidential candidates in Florida, sneering that they are "pander bears" to the Cuban community. [See video below. MP3 audio here.]

Teasing a discussion with Chuck Todd, Mitchell dismissed the GOP contenders: "And as Romney and Gingrich try to outdo each other with their anti-Castro vitriol, appealing to Florida voters, they think, Fidel weighed in today with his view of them." Todd lectured that Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney "ought to be careful, because it doesn't sound believable."

Needless to add Andrea Mitchell is a relentless critic of the so-called embargo against Stalinist Cuba. Needless to add she viewed sanctions against segregationist South Africa somewhat differently:

"How can the United States justify dealing with a nation that does not recognize something so basic as the concept of racial equality?!" she shrieked at Ronald Reagan during a presidential press conference in Dec. 7 1984. Back then, according to Ms Mitchell, a lack of U.S. sanctions "lent credibility to the apartheid regime," you see.

Unreal.

I guess 'anti-Castro vitriol' is much worse than murdering political prisoners or denying basic human rights:

A disgusted Andrea Mitchell on Thursday decried the "anti-Castro vitriol" coming from Republican presidential candidates in Florida, sneering that they are "pander bears" to the Cuban community. [See video below. MP3 audio here.]

Teasing a discussion with Chuck Todd, Mitchell dismissed the GOP contenders: "And as Romney and Gingrich try to outdo each other with their anti-Castro vitriol, appealing to Florida voters, they think, Fidel weighed in today with his view of them." Todd lectured that Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney "ought to be careful, because it doesn't sound believable."

Continuing to show her disdain, Mitchell made a historical comparison: "Well, remember, it was in Florida in '92 that the late Paul Tsongas accused Bill Clinton to be a pander bear, by pandering to the Medicare, Social Security contingent who didn't want any entitlement reform."

She then snapped, "I think we've now reached a new level of pander bears in Florida."

Andrea wins the Katie Couric sensitivity award today...

If you want to know why some of us feel the way we do, here it is in a nutshell:

Ron Paul took a risky position in Florida in Thursday’s debate, calling for communication and diplomatic relations with Cuba, saying that people's positions have changed dramatically over the last few years.

Paul said that Cuba isn’t going to invade the U.S. any time soon, and that Americans weren’t looking under their beds anymore, worried. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich followed by pledging to continue the economic embargo on Cuba and to take any action short of military invasion to upend the government of Raul Castro.

Paul’s position is a potentially dangerous one in Florida, a state with a influential voting bloc of conservative Republicans from Cuba who have long favored aggressive policies toward Havana.

But a study of Cuban American voters in Florida suggests that Paul might be right, and that voters' opinions about Cuba are changing. Support for tightening the embargo dropped by roughly half between 2004 and 2008, according to a study by Benjamin Bishin, a UC Riverside professor.

Cuban Americans’ support for easing the embargo increased to 43.4%, from 26.7% in 2004, and support for easing travel restrictions increased to 47.4% from 32.9%, Bishin found. “Cuban Americans’ attitudes on issues of U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba seems to be in transition,” he wrote in a 2009 study.

Let's reward the regime. They deserve it, right? After all, the Pope is going to Cuba. That means something, right?

Herbert Matthews rewarded for professional services

Fidel Castro, the retired Cuban leader whose 1959 takeover prompted the exodus of Cubans to South Florida:

“The selection of a Republican candidate for the presidency of this globalized and expansive empire is — and I mean this seriously — the greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance that has ever been,” he wrote in an opinion piece in state-owned news media.

He had reason to be annoyed.

Imagine folks whose education on the Cuban Revolution begins and ends with The Godfather II (95 per cent of Americans outside our ghetto) reading this..."Gosh the New york Times is right!...Why do those mean people in south Florida keep picking on that poor old man!....After all, he merely "prompted the exodus of Cubans to South Florida...and gosh, aren't people from those filthy countries down there ALWAYS trying to swarm into our country?...so what's the big deal?"

Hence, nary a hint by the New York Times regarding the policies that provoked that exodus.

Someone could write that Italian "leader" Benito Mussolini's takeover in Italy actually curtailed the exodus of Italian immigrants to the U.S. , that in fact one-third of the Italians who immigrated to the U.S. in the 20's and 30's voluntarily returned to (yes, Fascist) Italy and be technically correct....but something tells me it wouldn't go over well among the "enlightened."(i.e., those whose education of 20th century Italy relies on Federico Fellini.)

For the reason above, I've always claimed that denouncing Castro as a "Fascist" is terribly unfair to Mussolini.

Unreal

(Oye pero la verdad que a este Fontova le encanta JODER!!!...debe ser que esta de mal humor porque este fin de semana se acaban las hunting seasons

(H/T Media Research Center)

Via Bloomberg:

Brazil Grants Visa to Cuban Dissident on Eve of Rousseff’s Trip

Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil issued a tourist visa to a dissident Cuban blogger a few days before President Dilma Rousseff is scheduled to travel to the communist island in a visit being dominated by human rights concerns.

Yoani Sanchez, an outspoken critic of Raul Castro’s government, requested permission to travel to Brazil so she could attend the screening next month of a documentary in which she appears, the foreign ministry said in a statement. The visa was issued by Brazil’s embassy in Havana.

The 36-year-old philologist, who has repeatedly been blocked from leaving Cuba, celebrated the decision. “Now comes the most difficult part: the permission to leave,” she said in a message posted on her Twitter account yesterday.

Rousseff has been under pressure to meet with Sanchez and other activists during her Jan. 31-Feb. 1 visit after a jailed dissident, Wilman Villar, died last week during a 50-day hunger strike. Sanchez appealed this week directly to Rousseff, invoking the president’s experience surviving prison and torture at the hands of Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship.

“I saw a photo of young Dilma, sitting on a bench blindfolded as men accused her,” Sanchez wrote Jan. 24 on Twitter. “I feel that way right now.”

By Luis Felipe Rojas:

Photo courtesy of Felix Reyes

It’s almost like a premonition, but backwards.  After ascending a few steps over the heads of the citizens, those who’ve been dismissed by the regime have to walk down the small mountain they though they had climbed.  One step forward, and three steps back, or to the side.  It’s like a dance, but it’s as if they’re drunk, disoriented, without that compass of lies, consisting of a uniform, an ID card with red letters which read ‘PNR’ (National Revolutionary Police) and a Soviet-style Makarov pistol.  They suffer from a haunting scarcity.

The chief of the PNR Unit in San German, located in the province of Holguin, the 1st Lieutenant Manual Gonzalez Sera was dismissed from his position “because of his incompatible attitude with the processes of the police bodies”, according to local sources.  The currently dismissed police chief had accusations from citizens, alleging violence.  Though there is still no (and I dare say, will be no) official release, the former officer was subjected to a home search where they occupied numerous of his garments, which presumably were traced back to a relationship he was having with a Cuban-Canadian citizen, a grave crime within the Cuban military code which prohibits relationships between its officials and foreigners.

Within the past year, two chiefs of the police unit have been dismissed in San German.  The other, former captain Vladimir Aldana Rodriguez, is serving a sentence in a provincial penitentiary system, just like the local officers Alexander La O and Herson Ramirez.  Another three have been dismissed or have been laid off for different motives, all related to police corruption and serious violations in the carrying out of their duties to watch over and maintain citizen’s tranquility.

During the middle of 2011, various sources confirmed the news of the arrest of Lieutenant Luis Quesada, a Penal Instructor from State Security in an infernal unit located in the Pedernales neighborhood, on the outskirts of the city of Holguin.  Quesada had bragged to me once when I was detained that he was the one who tore down the door of dissident  Cari Caballero’s home so that his olive green troops could search the house.  We still don’t know if he has been sanctioned for the crime of raping minors and of lechery.

In the prison known as ‘Cuba Si’, situated on the path to San German, a Lieutenant Colonel from Military Counterintelligence (CIM) whose last name is Monje is serving jail time for the crime of corruption and abusing his power.  It seems like a cleansing of their social ditches.  Based on the amount of cases there have been reported from various provinces in the country, many suggest that it is just a governmental prance.

But one doesn’t have to imagine it, there are those who wash their face while their hands are full of blood.

Spanish PP member of parliament Teofilo de Luis responding to Fidel Castro's accusation that Spain is run by right-wing fascists (my translation):

"The dictators in Cuba cannot respond to this policy position by labeling us right-wing fascists because the true dictator is him. We won the elections in a democratic system, criticism is allowed, and we submit ourselves to the control of the people. Meanwhile, they do not allow any criticism and do not submit themselves to the control of the people."

For those who are still wondering why Alan Gross, the American aid worker being held hostage by the Castro dictatorship, is still imprisoned in Cuba, it is because he committed the Crime of the Century: Setting up WiFi networks for Jewish groups.

Cuba court: Gross set up Wi-Fi nets for Jews in three cities

A U.S. government subcontractor serving a 15-year prison sentence in Cuba slipped three satellite phones, three laptops and 13 Blackberry phones into the island, a court document in his case showed.

Alan P. Gross delivered the equipment to synagogues in Havana, Camaguey and Santiago de Cuba so that Jews could sidestep government controls on access to the Internet, the document noted.

He did not tell the recipients that a U.S. government program outlawed in Cuba had paid for the equipment, it added, and used two unwitting U.S. Jews to slip some of the gear into the island.

The Obama administration has repeatedly urged Cuba to free Gross as a humanitarian gesture. Cuba has said it wants a similar U.S. gesture toward five Cuban spies convicted in Miami as part of the “Wasp Network.”

The document, which appears to be the court ruling that found Gross guilty of actions against Cuba’s “independence or territorial integrity” last March, was first published last week by the Miami blog Café Fuerte.

Gross’ Washington attorney, Peter J. Kahn, said it showed there was no evidence that Gross was subverting the Cuban government, but declined to confirm its authenticity.

The 18-page document, summing up the evidence against Gross, 62, a humanitarian aid specialist from Potomac, Md., revealed some of the details of his case for the first time but left many questions unanswered.

Continue reading HERE.

The humor of Garrincha:

Translation:

- "Take that, you worm!"

- "You bully!"

- "Look, they're mounting a propaganda campaign against me!"

- "He's just an angel..."

Ecuadorean dictator Rafael Correa knows an effective plan for complete control over a population when he sees one, and that is why he is busily implementing the Fidel Castro method of repression, domination, and propaganda. Like his mentor Fidel did in Cuba, Correa is taking control of the press in Ecuador, threatening the few remaining independent news agencies in the country with fines and imprisonment if they dare print or utter a critical word regarding his dictatorial rule. And just like Castro, he and his minions are engaging in superfluous propaganda to both vilify his opponents and hide his regime's oppression.

In an editorial that appeared in last Sunday's Miami Herald as well as other media outlets, Correa lackey and new Ecuadorian ambassador to the U.S. Nathalie Cely penned quite a laughable piece of propaganda defending her dictator and his assault of press freedoms in Ecuador. Here it is in its entirety:

Rights and responsibilities of Ecuador’s media

By NATHALIE CELY

From the beginning of time journalists and elected officials in democratic societies have had painful and interdependent relationships. It is the nature of democracies to try to provide maximum freedom for responsible journalists and publishers while preventing dangerous misbehavior, libel and abuses of power.

A number of U.S. defenders of a free press, from The Miami Herald and Washington Post to the Committee to Protect Journalists, have taken an ongoing legal dispute between a powerful publishing family in Ecuador and Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa and have written of it as though it represented some new sort of Armageddon for the journalism profession.

To be very clear, no journalist in Ecuador has gone to jail, been kidnapped or paid a significant fine in the five years of the Correa presidency, even though El Universo, the newspaper owned by the Pérez family that these media watchdogs defend, published a scurrilous column about the president and an attempted coup against him that was factually untrue and far beyond any reasonable norm for criticism. Here is the background:

In September 2010, President Correa went to a rally of national police in Quito to respond to protests over changes in their compensation schemes. It soon became clear that this was not a peaceful rally. Shots were fired and there were casualties. He was taken to a hospital for the effects of tear gas, but the police and their allies surrounded the hospital and threatened more violence. Members of the military came to escort him out. It was a scary moment in a country that, before the president’s inauguration in 2007 had seven failed presidents in a decade.

Last February, a columnist for El Universo who now lives in South Florida wrote an attack in which he never used the president’s name, referring only to “The Dictator.” He claimed to have proof that the president ordered troops to fire on innocent people and accused him of “crimes against humanity” — genocide. The president demanded proof or a retraction, but got neither. And so he sued under a longstanding law that allows any citizen to sue when he feels libeled. He won the case in a court of law and so far has won each appeal.

The president has said that he will waive some or all of the penalties provided he gets a retraction of the offensive column.

So who is the victim in this dispute? Not the people of Ecuador. A recent objective analysis of Latin American public opinion by the Mexican polling firm Consulta Mitofski shows that President Correa is among the most popular leaders in the hemisphere. All social indicators in the country are heading in the right direction: employment is up; wages, up; literacy and health measurements, up; public engagement, up. The electorate will decide next year, assuming he seeks re-election, whether they think their president is a “dictator” or their chosen leader.

What should anyone do when lies are published about him? It appears to me that President Obama has been harmed by ludicrous false charges about his birthplace, citizenship and religion in the U.S In the U.K., journalists illegally routinely spied on ordinary citizens to get their stories. Where do ethics come into play in these situations? What are the rights of those who are injured or offended by these lies? Even elected officials have some right to the truth. Where is the public self-criticism among publishers and journalists?

Ecuador and Latin America — probably also the United States — all need more honest debate and dissent to build better democracies. But should principles of press freedom have no limit? Do honest journalists support the work of those who are unethical in their writings? Can you deliberately and falsely call me a narco-trafficker and then hide behind grand principles of media freedom?

At a time when winds of change whip through the world, perhaps it is time for a re-examination of the special immunities and responsibilities of the media. That’s what is underway today, in a messy, public and democratic way, in Ecuador.

Nathalie Cely presented her credentials to President Obama last week as the new ambassador for the Republic of Ecuador in Washington, D.C.

A few facts Ms. Cely leaves out of her ridiculous defense:

The courts and the judicial system in Ecuador has been systematically taken over by Rafael Correa in a fashion similar to what dictator Hugo Chavez has done in Venezuela. Therefore, to claim Correa's complaints about the free press in Ecuador have been vindicated by the courts is at best laughable, and at worst, sinister.

Moreover, Ms. Cely unwittingly proves the corruption of the Ecuadorean judicial system when she states "[t]he president has said that he will waive some or all of the penalties provided he gets a retraction of the offensive column." If Ecuador is truly a democracy and the judicial branch is independent of the executive branch, where does Correa get the power to "waive some or all of the penalties" levied against a journalist by a supposedly independent court? Obviously, as dictator, he only needs to make a phone call and the judges do as they are ordered.

And lastly, Cely closes her remarks with an impassioned call for a re-examination of the immunities and responsibilities of the independent media. An interesting request considering the fact that Correa now controls 95% of the media in Ecuador. Apparently, that 5% is still considered a threat, and if you want to believe Cely, freedom of the press in Ecuador will not be safe until Correa controls 100% of the press.

January 26th, 1976:

Pierre Trudeau became the first Canadian prime minister to visit Cuba, touching down in the Communist nation 36 years ago today. While the two men shared a philosophical nature, Trudeau was attacked mercilessly for the trip, primarily due to its timing: Thousands of Cuban soldiers were pouring into Angola to shore up the government during a civil war. By May 1978, Trudeau could no longer withstand the pressure, terminating CIDA aid to the island to protest Castro's activities in Africa. Trudeau did not visit Castro again until 1991, when he returned to Havana with his three sons. Castro was an honorary pallbearer at Trudeau's funeral in Ottawa in 2000.

Via Capitol Hill Cubans:

Senate Resolution Honors Wilman Villar

Senator Menendez, Rubio and Bill Nelson Condemn Cuban Regime; Honor Cuban Dissident and Democracy Activist Wilman Villar Mendoza

WASHINGTON – United States Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Bill Nelson (D-FL) introduced a Senate resolution today condemning the Cuban regime and honoring the life of Cuban dissident Wilman Villar Mendoza, who passed away in Cuban custody on January 19th following a 56-day hunger strike in the horrific Aguadores prison near Santiago de Cuba.

“The responsibility for Mr. Mendoza’s death rests squarely with the Castro brothers, whose regime has arrested more than 4000 activists last year alone and continues to repress the human rights of all Cubans,” said Menendez. “Wilman Villar Mendoza was merely exercising his freedom of expression when he was arrested, convicted in a sham trial that lasted an hour, and sentenced to 4 years in one of Cuba’s most inhumane prisons. Now the Cuban security forces are harassing his wife, a member of the Ladies in White, and are threatening to take away their children.” Menendez added, “The incredible sacrifice made by Mr. Mendoza on the behalf of all Cubans will never be forgotten. I urge the international community to speak out about the death of Mr. Mendoza and relentless abuses of human rights in Cuba”

Senator Rubio said, "I join the Cuban people in mourning the death of Wilman Villar Mendoza, and I offer my condolences and prayers to his wife and children. The Cuban regime is a callous band of murderers that once again has blood on its hands for unjustly imprisoning this man and allowing him to die from a hunger strike. "Once again, we are reminded of the unintended but negative consequences of this administration's loosened travel and remittance policies. They help deliver more hard currency to the Castro regime, making it easier for them to brutalize and even murder the Cuban people," Rubio stated.

“We should never forget Mr. Mendoza’s fight against tyranny,” said Senator Nelson. “And, we will continue to apply constant and unrelenting pressure until the Cuban people enjoy the freedom they deserve.”

The resolution in its entirety:

Continue reading Senate Resolution Honors Wilman Villar

Governor Mitt Romney on Cuba & Latin America

Mitt Romney will adopt a clear policy toward the Cuban regime: no accommodation, no appeasement. The United States should not relent until the day when the Castros’ regime meets its end and their history is written among the world's most reviled despots, tyrants, and frauds. The North Star that guides Mitt Romney’s policy toward the island is the realizable dream of a free Cuba.

Unfortunately, President Obama has adopted a strategy of appeasement toward the Castro regime. He unilaterally relaxed sanctions without making any demands of the regime. Predictably, the Castros responded to these naïve concessions by tightening their grip on the island and by taking an American, Alan Gross, as a political prisoner. Now, increased travel and remittances to Cuba prop up a regime desperate for foreign currency.

Mitt Romney will break sharply with President Obama’s appeasement strategy. Mitt Romney believes unilateral concessions to a dictatorial regime are counterproductive, helping to secure a succession of power and greater repression instead of a transition to freedom. Mitt Romney will send a strong message to both the regime and the Cuban people that the United States stands with the courageous pro-democracy movement on the island, and that our support will never waver. Mitt Romney’s policy toward Cuba will include:

· Reinstating Travel & Remittance Restrictions. Mitt Romney will reinstate the 2004 travel and remittance restrictions that President Obama naively lifted.

· Adhering to the Helms-Burton Act. Mitt Romney will strictly adhere to the Helms-Burton Act, including Title III, to place maximum pressure on the Cuban regime.

· Demanding Release of Alan Gross. Mitt Romney will demand the immediate release of Alan Gross.

· Democracy Promotion Programs. Mitt Romney will fully fund and effectively implement democracy promotion programs to support Cuba’s brave pro-democracy movement.

· Breaking the Information Blockade. Mitt Romney will commit to breaking the information blockade the Castro regime places on the Cuban people. He will order effective use of Radio and TV Marti’s broadcasts to the island and employ robust Internet, social media, and other innovative steps to bring information to the Cuban people and help them send information out.

· Publicly Naming Oppressors. Mitt Romney will publicly identify by name those police officers, prison officials, judges, state security personnel, and regime officials who mistreat, torture, and oppress the Cuban people so they know they will be held individually accountable.

· Holding the Castros Accountable for the Brothers to the Rescue Shoot Down. Mitt Romney will explore all avenues — including criminal indictment — to ensure that Fidel and Raul Castro are held accountable for the killing of four Americans in the downing of the Brothers to the Rescue airplanes.

Mitt Romney recognizes the wider threat to freedom posed by the anti-American Bolivarian movement across Latin America that is led by Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and the Castro brothers. This movement threatens the principles enshrined in the Inter-American Democratic Charter and poses a serious national security threat to U.S. regional allies and the U.S. homeland in the form of an enhanced drug-terror nexus. Mitt Romney will pursue a resolute policy toward Latin America that will include:

· Bolstering the Inter-American Democratic Charter. The precepts of the Inter-American Democratic Charter will form the cornerstone of U.S. policy in the hemisphere. There will never be a Cuban exception to the Charter.

· Campaign for Economic Opportunity in Latin America. In his first 100 days, Mitt Romney will launch a vigorous public diplomacy and trade promotion effort in the region — the Campaign for Economic Opportunity in Latin America (CEOLA) — to extol the virtues of democracy and free trade and contrast them with the ills of the model offered by Cuba and Venezuela.

· Hemispheric Joint Task Force on Crime & Terrorism. Mitt Romney will form a unified Hemispheric Joint Task Force on Crime and Terrorism to coordinate intelligence and law enforcement among our allies against regional terrorist groups and criminal networks.

The widow of murdered human rights activist Wilman Villar Mendoza has been threatened by the Castro regime with imprisonment and having her two daughters taken away if she continues to publicly denounce the regime.

Via Punt de Vista (my translation):

Widow of Villar threatened with prison and losing custody of her daughters

The widow of Wilman Villar Mendoza has stated that the regime is engaging in "psychological warfare" against her through her parents, sending people to tell her to separate herself "from everything," or she could end up "in prison" and she can have her daughters "taken away," Actualidad 1020 AM reports. Pelegrino has been warned "not to make anymore denouncements." She states that her parents are "terrorized" and "are in great fear." She practically does not leave her home.

Via Pedazos de la Isla:

Banes, Holguin: Lady in White Denounces Dictatorship’s Violence

Marta Díaz Rondón, Gertrudis Ojeda Suarez and Miladis Rosa are three Ladies in White and pro-democracy activists that have been beaten, dragged, arrested, and kept under surveillance for the simple act of paying tribute to their deceased brothers in struggle, for peacefully and publicly opposing the tyranny, and for trying to assist religious mass. 

January 15th

The 3 women- all of them residents from Banes, Holguin- suffered a brutal attack at the hands of state agents on the morning of Saturday, January 14th, as they were traveling towards the city of Holguin aboard a friend’s car to assist mass that Sunday along with other Ladies in White.  The violence began when a group of State Security agents and political police officials gave orders to the women to get off the car.  Considering that neither of the three had committed a single crime, they refused.  The violence began at that very moment.

“It was a group of police agents, headed by State Security agent Freddy Aguero”, explains Marta Díaz Rondón, “they dragged us off the car as they were beating us”. As they dragged the women, in addition to the accustomed physical blows delivered by officials, the women were being hurt as they were thrown against the car seats, the car steps, and the outside pavement.  In the case of Rondon, she suffered serious injuries on her head and on her thighs.  As for Gertrudis Ojeda, who just a few weeks ago was brutally beaten inside her own house by Cuban political police,  they “twisted her arms and hands, they nearly broke them“.  Afterward, the three activists were thrown inside a police vehicle.

The activists were first taken to a State Security department in Banes, where they once again were dragged, by their hair and by their arms- this time up the stairs to the 3rd floor where the offices of the department are located. Once upstairs, the agents decided where each woman would be taken to.  In the case of Diaz Rondon, she was taken to the unit known as Vagano, in Holguin, where she remained arrested for a total of 29 hours.  Gertrudis was taken to the Rafael Freire Unit (also for 29 hours), and Miladis was detained in a police unit in Banes for a number of hours until that afternoon.

“During the arrest, we all carried out a protest.  We did not accept a single thing from them”, affirmed Rondon.

In this photo, taken in 2010 by Luis Felipe Rojas, Marta Diaz Rondon appears with various bruises on her thighs/legs. It is this same area where she is once again suffering from wounds because of beatings at the hands of the regime.

Continue reading HERE.

Apparently, the "reforms" of repressive and murderous dictator Raul Castro were not enough to convince two members of the Cuban women's national soccer team to return to Cuba and continue their lives as slaves to the Castro regime:

Two Cuban players defect, seek asylum

Two members of the Cuban women's national soccer team have defected to the United States and are asking for political asylum.

The players, Yisel Rodriguez and Yezenia Gallardo, disappeared Monday while the team was participating in Vancouver in the CONCACAF women's soccer Olympic qualifying tournament.

Rodriguez, 22, is now with relatives in Miami, while Gallardo, 20, has been reunited with family in Houston.

Gallardo is one of Cuba's top players, playing in every minute of the team's first two games at the tournament. Rodriquez also started both games.

Cuba lost all three games at the tournament and failed to qualify for the London Olympics.

Speaking by telephone from Miami, with her brother, Raudel Rodriguez, acting as interpreter, Yisel detailed how she and Gallardo escaped the attention of the Cuban delegation.

Rodriguez said she told no one back home about her plans, but did discuss the possibility with Gallardo after arriving in Vancouver.

The problem was that except for games and practices, players were not allowed outside the hotel, and inside they were permitted to go only to the third floor for meals.

But following Cuba's match with Canada Saturday evening, the two players made their move.

"We waited for a distraction of the coaches," Rodriguez said. "Then I talked to my roommate (Gallardo), and we decided to go. We tried to take the elevator down to the first floor, but it would only go down to the fifth floor, so we took the stairs down to the street. We hailed a cab and asked him to take us to the border."

The two reached the U.S. border at about 2 a.m. Sunday. Once they arrived, Rodriguez and Gallardo approached a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official.

"He asked us what we were doing," Rodriguez said. "We told him we wanted to defect."

NEWS

House Foreign Affairs Committee

U.S. House of Representatives

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chairman

For IMMEDIATE Release – January 25, 2012

Bipartisan House Resolution Honoring Václav Havel and His Commitment to Freedom and Human Rights Introduced by Ros-Lehtinen

(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today introduced a resolution in the House honoring the life and legacy of Václav Havel, the former president of the Czech Republic who passed away on December 18, 2011.  Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:

“Throughout his life, Václav Havel worked tirelessly for liberty and human rights.  His staunch opposition to communism helped the Czech people break free from communist rule and inspired democracy movements throughout Eastern Europe.  His commitment to his country, freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and free enterprise will forever be remembered throughout the world.

“President Havel’s vision and passion for human rights firmly planted the tenets of democracy in the Czech Republic and provided a model of peace and stability for other countries throwing off the heavy yoke of communist rule. We must never forget the selflessness that he embodied and his advocacy for all oppressed people, including those living under the totalitarian regimes in Belarus, Burma, Iran, China, as well as in my native homeland, Cuba.

“As a dynamic advocate for the Cuban people, President Havel never shied away from calling the Cuban dictatorship what it was, a ruthless oppressive regime.  His establishment of the International Committee for Democracy in Cuba is a testament to his commitment to fight totalitarianism wherever it exists, and his belief that all people deserve to live in freedom.

“We must never forget Václav Havel, his accomplishments, and the ideals for which he struggled.  This resolution honors this great man, and his great legacy.  The best way to honor Václav Havel’s memory is to continue his struggle against tyranny and oppression.”

NOTE:  This resolution enjoys strong bipartisan support from U.S. Reps. Howard Berman (D-CA), Dan Burton (R-IN), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Connie Mack (R-FL), David Rivera (R-FL) and Albio Sires (D-NJ), who are original cosponsors of the measure. There is also a complimentary effort in the Senate to honor Vaclav Havel, led by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT).

#####

By Luis Felipe Rojas:

Wilman Villar Mendoza. Photo from UNPACU

The Cuban government is a monster which has locked itself in a crystal valve and swallowed the key.  The death of Wilman Villar Mendoza, product of a hunger strike in demand that his prison sentence be revised, is a clear example.  The Castro regime has cut all communications between its citizens and the institutions which are supposed to watch over them.  There is no possible way for a citizen, without ‘connections’, to win a case in the Supreme Court.

The armies of the current General-President avoid, at all costs, that he (Castro) and all his close collaborators lose their status of ‘untouchables’, of astronomical beings which can only be seen driving by in luxurious cars.  And not to mention, no one knows the telephone numbers of the mansions they live in.

I waited until Saturday, after I read the reports published about the death of Wilman Villar, to jot down these ideas.  Even with how tragic the news is, the government’s response did not surprise me in any way.  The first thing they did was to dust off all responsibilities from the national health system (publicly). In reality, are all doubtful deaths which occur in Cuban hospitals published on the pages of the official state paper, Granma?

For the government of our country, Wilman was a delinquent.

An essential step to socially discredit anyone is vilifying the person, criminalizing them.  Up to now, I have not heard of any dissident of the dictatorship (it doesn’t matter is they are affiliated to an independent group in the country or not) who has not been “awarded” with the insults of the propaganda machinery of the Cuban Communist Party.  This happens as soon as the person decides to publicly state that they think differently than the regime.  Hours prior to falling in disgrace, the most common of Cuban mortals could have given their entire life to try and fix the country, but if he or she is considered a dissident of the tropical Stalinist ideas, then they go on to form part of the leper list, ideologically speaking.

It’s very possible that by the time you all read this post, the declarations of some relatives and neighbors of Wilman Villar may have already been posted, where they say how he had a poor conduct and contributed little to society.  As if a guarantee given by the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution is enough to exempt one from social insults.  One does not have to have black skin to be abused.  Marginalization dresses itself in whatever clothes the segregationist system deems necessary.

Habemus Papam? Now I know that the table for His Holiness is served, and in what a way!  The government will show, on that date, nearly a thousand peaceful dissidents arrested and their bodies marked by the scars of karate punches and the boots which have kicked them and stepped over them.  A people willing to participate in the most violent of repudiation mob attacks which are instantly demanded of them.  And, the body of Wilman Villar Mendoza, which they, the manipulators of our national reality, will try to hold us responsible for.  We are ready, your Holiness Benedict XVI.

El Sexto with Laura Pollan: