New possible campaigns for Web CEO. Just don't be drinking milk in front of your computer when you click here.

Or, Che Guevara est mortuus

Heard a Mexican-American caller last night on local talk radio berating the Cuban-American community for its lack of support of this week's protests by La Raza, etal, around the country. His gripe, as you can imagine, was that according to him, Cuban "immigrants" get special treatment from the US government. And since we all speak Spanish, you see, we are all the same and thus, the Cuban-American community has betrayed their "Latino" and "Hispanic" brothers and sisters in arms because we didn't support their cause while receiving said preferential treatment.

Since so many of the protesters are skipping school to take back their lands via la Reconquista, I thought I'd offer up a quick vocabulary lesson that will hopefully clear up the "we're the same" misconception:

ref·u·gee
n.
One who flees in search of refuge, as in times of war, political oppression, or religious persecution.

im·mi·grant n. A person who leaves one country to settle permanently in another.

Contrary to what today's media prefers to call Cubans who risk their lives to reach US shores - lately the term has been "migrants" - those Cubans are fleeing political oppression and are, thus, refugees. As I stated in a previous post, when Mexican "migrants" are faced with systematic violations of every basic human and civil right as the people of Cuba are, then perhaps I would accept a similarity.

What I will never accept, however, is the undignified treatment of a symbol of the United States of America under the caveat that as a "latino" or "hispanic" it is done on my behalf. While this country may not be perfect, it offered me refuge and the freedom to be me and I take great umbrage when an American flag is desecrated supposedly in my name. That's my flag that was being burned. That's my flag that was being hung upside-down and below the flag of another nation on my own soil.

And if disrespecting my American flag wasn't enough, many of these protesters are proudly donning the image of the Butcher of La Cabaña himself, none other than che guevara:

Now, if you think you can criticize me for not supporting your protest while insulting me by desecrating the flag of the country that has taken my family in and offered me liberty and prosperity, and then all the while proudly displaying the image of a man who murdered countless of Cubans and was instrumental in the destruction of my country of birth and the reason for my family having to seek refuge in the first place, you got another thing coming.

That man on your t-shirt stands for everything that I and my community detest and what we passionately and painstakingly fight against. And too many courageous and noble Americans and Cubans gave their lives fighting the likes of the very same man whom you seem to revere. So don't come to me asking for my support. Youre not going to get it. I dont care what your cause is. Not while I still breathe and you're lauding che guevara.

And if I may offer a few words of advise to my protesting "brothers and sisters": Before you choose a hero like che guevara for your cause, better do your homework first. Here's a start:

The Real Che Guevara
Guevara: Anatomy of a Myth.
The Real Che by Anthony Daniels
The Killing Machine
Ruthless Killer
Che Guevara
Murdered by Che
Debunking the Che Myth

A few months back, I finished a book titled The Sword of the Prophet, written by Serge Trifkovic, former BBC commentator, and reporter for US NEWS and World Report. It was a fascinating history of the practice of Jihad: unvarnished, very politically incorrect, and full of references to the source documents of Islam, the Koran and the Hadith. An interview with Mr. Trifkovic was published today by FrontPage Magazine regarding his new book, Defeating Jihad. He has brilliantly stated the sad state in which we find ourselves in the so-called “War on Terror” and lack of resolve on the part of the West. Here’s a little taste of the interview:

All Americans -- real Americans, that is, and not those who falsely take the oath of citizenship but continue to preach jihad and Shari'a -- will be spared the worry about Mr. Bush listening in to their phone conversations if Islamic activism is treated as grounds for the loss of acquired U.S. citizenship and deportation. The citizenship of any naturalized American who preaches jihad, inequality of "infidels" and women, the establishment of the Shari'a law etc., should be revoked, and that person promptly deported to the country of origin.

A foreigner who becomes naturalized has to declare, on oath,

that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law. and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.

But for a Muslim to declare all of the above in good faith, and especially that he accepts the US Constitution as the source of his highest loyalty, is an act of apostasy par excellence, punishable by death under the Islamic law. The Shari'a, to a Muslim, is not an addition to the "secular" legal code with which it coexists with "the Constitution and laws of the United States of America"; it is the only true code, the only basis of obligation. To be legitimate, all political power therefore must rest exclusively with those who enjoy Allah's authority on the basis of his revealed will. America is illegitimate.

So how can a self-avowedly devout Muslim take the oath, and expect the rest of us to believe that it was done in good faith? Because he is practicing taqiyya, the art of dissimulation that was inaugurated by Muhammad to help destabilize and undermine non-Muslim communities almost ripe for a touch of Jihad. Or else because he is not devout enough and confused, but in that case there is the ever-present danger that at some point he will rediscover his roots, with many predictably unpleasant consequences for the rest of us.

Read the entire interview here.

P.S., for all of you who are denouncers of “hysterical xenophobia” I want to ask one question: how many tragedies must unfold caused by one group or another that are bent on our destruction, before the blinders come off?

You get what you pay for, and then some.

I wanted to link to Victoria's piece on the death of the tyrant over at Sundries last night, but try as I might, I couldnt get my computer to follow orders. Either it went on strike, got hacked or basically just went kaput.

On the subject of media coverage of castro's death, Victoria writes:

Depending on their ideological viewpoint, each news organisation will either completely ignore the tremendous evil this man had foisted on a nation of 10 million plus for almost 50 years, or to reduce their significance, by comparing the then and now, in as positive a light as they can.

The latter will include always mentioning the 99% literacy rates, and the free health care, his Socialist Revolution brought about.

No word about the lack of free elections during all this time; indeed, the fact this rich man's son, this ex-altar boy-turned lawyer-turned revolutionary, Fidel Castro has never once been elected to any position in Cuba, yet he, however, is the font of all power in his country.

They will not mention all the thousands and thousands of people he has imprisoned, nor the mock trials held to condemn his opponents to death, nor of the civil liberties he has taken away, such as freedoms of speech, assembly, association and religion, all these years.

The negative column is so bristling to capacity with infringements of the most basic kinds of liberties which most people not living in Communist dictatorships have, yet who are always prostesting they have little, or that that they are under siege by whatever current administration is in power.

If these self-same people had to endure EVEN ONE MOMENT of the very real lack of civil liberties Cubans have undergone these many years, they would find out how very lucky they truly are.

Read the whole thing.

Perhaps you aren't aware of this despicable company that uses Che Guevara to promote itself, but CB at Killcastro brings us 3 alternate campaigns that the company could implement. Check them out here.

Happens to me every year.

For about a week now I've had what I call Spring fever. Now, I know you snowbirds out there are probably thinking Pfft. Spring fever? You live in Miami, Val.

Yeah, I live in Miami and I dont have to shovel snow or bundle up. And it rarely gets below 50 degrees here. But still, we have had absolutely the most beautiful weather here for the past few weeks. Clear blue skies, moderate temps and of course, those breezes coming in from the ocean...

And every year, this time of year, when the weather is perfect like it is now, I get the itch. The I-need-to-be-outside-at-the-beach-or-by-the-pool-or-on-a-boat-or-at-the-Keys-lying-on-a-hammock-under-a-palm-tree-with-a-daiquiri-in-my-hand itch.

Right now, I'm sitting inside my windowless office and all I can think of is this.

Now tell me, wouldnt you want to be lounging under one of those palms, with the sand between your toes, the sun at your back and that endless lapping of little waves right in front of you? Cant you just smell the ocean?

All you need to complete the picture of pure, unadulterated and unbridled relaxation is a cooler full of your favorite beverage, maybe a little smooth jazz on the radio and a good book. A nice, juicy work of fiction.

Weill, I cant help you all with the sun, the sand or the sea, and you'll have to choose your own music and BYOB, but I can suggest an excellent work of fiction:

La Pionera and the New Mango by Jerome du Bois and Catherine King of The Tears of Things.

La Pionera is by far one of the best pieces of fiction I have read in quite some time, and, of course, to top it off, it's about Cubans in Cuba. Trust me folks, you will love it. It's chock full of real characters, intrigue, suspense, CDR agents, Santeros, the whole nueve yardas.

I urge you all to click the following links, press your print button and find yourself a nice, cozy and relaxing spot under a palm tree. You wont be able to stop reading.

La Pionera And The New Mango. Introduction: Meet The Mantis
La Pionera And The New Mango: Part One (Sections 1-3)
La Pionera And The New Mango: Part One: I've Learned A Lot From The Nautilus: (Section 4)
La Pionera And The New Mango: Part One: I've Learned A Lot From The Nautilus: (Section 5)
La Pionera And The New Mango: Part Two: In The Time Of Lisa Zeitgeist: (Sections 1-4)
La Pionera And The New Mango: Part Two: In The Time Of Lisa Zeitgeist: (Sections 5-7)
La Pionera And The New Mango, Part Two, Section 8: Guillermo's Sojourn To Santa Clara
La Pionera And The New Mango, Part Two, Section 9: Lisa Zeitgeist Under The Influence
La Pionera And The New Mango: The Legend Of The Seed Man

And the latest addition:

La Pionera And The New Mango, Part Two, Section 10: Jikary Nacional and the Jaba Vinyl of Miracles

Now go and read. You can thank me later.

I'm thinking of printing this T-shirt up. Any reactions?

Some people have objected to the use of the word "intransigent" on the shirt. I respect everyone's opinion but the story of the genesis of the shirt deserves to be told. About 5 years ago a fellow graduate of Belen and I were having a pretty hot debate about Cuba. You see my friend went away to college and got brainwashed by a bunch of liberal professors and Jesuit priests. Anyway, in this debate he continually called me intransigent. I had never even heard the word before, but that's OK there's probably a lot of words I haven't heard before. Anyway I've noticed a trend that everyone who is anti-castro is labeled intransigent. As some of you have commented intransigent can have a negative connotation, particularly when it's used with the venom that castro sycophants use it with. But I've decided to own that particular criticism. Why? Well because I prefer this definition of the word:

adj.: not capable of being swayed or diverted from a course.

Intransigent is the key word on the shirt design. In fact, I'm pretty intransigent about the word intransigent.

When it comes to Human Rights, I'm intransigent
When it comes to pluralism, I'm intransigent
When it comes to freedom, I'm intransigent
When it comes to a free Cuba, I'm I N T R A N S I G E N T !

Just like my Miami Mafia shirt design, this perhaps doesn't appeal to everyone. I'm not afraid of labels. Sticks and stones may break my bones...

From the same guys that called fidel castro from their radio show, (You can listen to that audio here) we have the following phone call to the Habana Libre hotel, where they attempt to make a reservation, as Cubans from Cuba, and are told "no way, Jose":

fidel castro, hotel Nazi!

There are probably thousands of them. In Miami, New Jersey, Michigan, Texas. Scattered about the country and world just like their owners. Waiting. Silently. Tucked in the back somewhere behind the milk and OJ.

La botellita.

At one point every refrigerator in every Cuban exile home had one. Chilling. Waiting for the day.

Other botellitas have come and gone. One was opened when they took the oath and became Americans. One was opened when a son graduated from college. One was opened when a daughter had their first grandchild. One was opened, perhaps, when reunited with a long lost relative.

But that one botellita, that one bottle that each time they open the refrigerator door serves as a painful reminder, it is still there. Corked. Unopened. Full. Stoic. Still waiting.

Oh, but how glorious it will be! That day. That day when they pop that cork. That beautiful, glorious day. The new dawn! The day that botellita has been waiting for all its peaceful life.

They will rush to that refrigerator with the news still sinking in, still blaring loudly all around. Cheers from outside their windows. Car horns blaring up and down the streets. They'll reach past the milk and OJ, delicately grab that botellita that has had such patience. Such determination. Such anguish. Such patience!

And they will pull that botellita out, stare at the label. Remember the day they bought it. How young they were then. How optimistic. How hopeful. How naive. My God, but how young they were!

"Bring me the glasses!" they'll yell. The special glasses. The expensive ones. The ones in the china cabinet that have never been used. Yes, those. They will set them down on the table. Stare each other in the eyes with indecision, remorse, elation.

Slowly they'll unwrap la botellita's foil. Undo the little wire. Squeeze ever so gently that cork. Slowly. Make the moment last. It has been a long time coming.

POP!

Like a cañonaso. Cannon fire signifying the culmination. Marking the beginning of time.

They will pour its contents carefully. Dont want to spill a single drop. They have been waiting too long to waste it. They want to savor it. Take it in. Absorb it.

They will take the full glass in hand. It doesnt matter if it isnt bubbling all that much. It's from their botellita. The one stored in the refrigerator all these years. Back behind the milk and OJ. Waiting for today. This day. The day of days.

They will raise their glass, look up at the heavens, thank God and then, right before the glass's rim touches their waiting lips, from the most profound and hidden corner of their souls, they'll make their long awaited toast.

Viva Cuba Libre!

Champagne and tears.

castro may be dead.

Rumors are circulating in the far left Latin American press. castro may be in hell as I write this.

Bella cubanita Stefania in Sardinia has the first report here.

Update: (Val) Im 99% sure this is a hoax. Like this one. castro may not be dead today, but he will soon hang up his sneakers, as Cubans say. And on that day, come on by. We're having a party. A big one. Beers are on me.

Update II: Val's right - the bearded scumbag just released a totally pointless photo of himself meeting some oil executive in Havana. He obviously heard the rumor - and wanted to show everyone he was alive. After all, it was the number two item on the entire blogosphere today.

Since castro was desperate to release the picture, it must have been some internal enemy who released the rumor. It's nice when rats fight. But I hope we scared him. The Prensa Latina communist press photo of the old reptile is here.

Memo to Cuban agents reading this: We still despise your rotten dictator. Go tell castro that.

Guillermos Fariñas Hernandez has ended his hunger strike.

Details at Wall Street Cafe and from Uncommon Sense:

Some may dismiss Fariñas as merely someone who wanted the right to surf the Internet, a right not equal to his sacrifice and which he failed to attain. But his protest was really demanding something much more for himself, and for Cuba.

Freedom.

To be free, man must have the right to free expression, and in the modern age, that means the right to use the Internet to gather and distribute information.

Castro understands that, which is why unregulated use of the Internet by Cubans in Cuba is against the law.

With his sacrifice, Fariñas added to the evidence that, despite the dictator's bluster, Cuba and Cubans are not free.

The tyrant has no clothes.

Maybe that is why most of the MSM ignored the Fariñas. Everyone already knows that Cuba under Castro is a very bad place.

Yeah, and Al-Jazeera is hiring Lucia Newman because she is such an objective journalist.

The truth is, the MSM ignored Fariñas — one of their own — because they don't give a damn about Cuba, especially the Cubans who have suffered under almost 50 years of castroism. As a journalist in the MSM, I am angry and disappointed, but not surprised.

The MSM may have missed the story, but that does not diminish the magnitude of what Fariñas accomplished.

He stood up to Castro. Yes, he backed down before he got what he was demanding, but not before exposing for a new audience the cruelty of the Castro regime.

He also demonstrated a courage that if emulated, will eventually bring down the dictatorship and make Cuba, and Cubans, free.

Fariñas' courage and his love for Cuba are unquestioned.

He is a hero, and a patriot.

Indeed.

Posted without comment: "CNN Correspondent Jumps to Al-Jazeera." Get a load of the last paragraph.

Continue reading From fidel to jihad…

I hadnt wanted to cover this subject here on Babalu for fear of opening up a great big ole can of worms, but I feel I have to clarify a few things regarding the recent protests by "latinos" or "hispanics" throughout the US.

First, there is no such thing as a "latino" race. There is no such thing as an "hispanic" race. Both terms are contrived and used solely for census purposes. There is no such country as "latinolandia" and Hispaniola is technically half of an island in the Caribbean.

Second, I am not nor will I ever be part of "La Raza." Nor do I agree or support their current protests. Some of you may, but I do not.

Third, I have never and will never, despite having many issues with the government of the United States throughout the years, burn a flag of the United States of America. I am Cuban by birth, American by the grace of God. And a darned proud, dignified, thankful and respectful American.

Fourth, while I certainly sympathize with the Mexican people for their country's economic and social troubles, I refuse to be lumped together as a class or a race simply because we speak a similar language. If Mexicans and Mexican-Americans had wanted my support, then they should have supported the cause of a free and democratic Cuba, instead of the majority and at times the Mexican government having sided with and legitimizing the government of fidel castro.

Fifth, there is a difference between a Cuban living in the United States and a Mexican living in the United States. One is a political refugee and the other is an immigrant, respectively. When Mexicans are being oppressed and have their basic human rights trampeled on by their government as Cubans do, then perhaps my opinion will change, until then, the aforementioned difference stands.

Mexicans and Mexican-Americans may very well have legitimate gripes with the government of the US, but as La Raza, the flags they are burning and flying up-side down below the Mexican flag do not speak for me. I aint Mexican, I aint Latino and I aint Hispanic. I am an American of Cuban descent. And damned proud of it.

More:

Wall Street Cafe
26th Parallel
El Cafe Cubano

It never ceases to amaze me how some religious leaders from the US and around the world travel to Cuba and collude with fidel castro, the very same man who once declared Cuba to be an atheist state. The very same man who rounded up priests and clerics and when not executing them expelled them from the island. The very same man who made Christmas illegal. The very same man who to this day still rounds up, harrasses and oppresses pastors, reverends, priests and other men and women of faith.

Last month I wrote about Frank Griswold of the Episcopalian Church, there's the National Council of Churches, Vatican officials ignore Cuba's human rights record and instead chastise the US for Guantanamo. The list is endless and frustrating.

But every once in a while, a true Christian organization, concerned more about Christianity than politics, goes on record and takes a stand against the blatant violations to freedom of religion and human rights by fidel castro's government:

From The Institute on Religion and Democracy:

Waiting for the Solidarity Embrace

Faith McDonnell

Within the mud-wall cells (celdas tapiadas) of Cuba’s infamous Combinado del Este Prison in East Havana, the prison guards work overtime to demoralize Christians and other political prisoners. Dissidents are presented with every new statement of support by a U.S. church leader for Castro’s revolution in an attempt to convince them to abandon their faith.

IRD first learned of this favorite technique of the Cuban Communist indoctrinators over two decades ago. The lauded Cuban poet and patriot Armando Valladares experienced this mockery and abuse first-hand during his twenty years in Castro’s prisons. In his acceptance speech upon receiving IRD’s 1983 Religious Freedom Award, Valladares said that the award’s recognition of the suffering of Cuban Christians for the sake of religious freedom and human rights countered the betrayal they felt from other U.S. mainline church leaders.

“Every time that a pamphlet was published in the United States, every time a clergyman would write an article in support of Fidel Castro’s dictatorship, a translation would reach us and that was worse for the Christian political prisoners than the beatings or the hunger,” Valladares revealed.

“While we waited for the solidarity embrace from our brothers in Christ, incomprehensively to us, those who were embraced were our tormentors.” Valladares declared that Christians in Cuba’s prisons were suffering not only the pain of torture and isolation, but the conviction that they had been deserted by their brothers in faith.

Fast forward twenty-three years. The recent trip to Cuba of Frank Griswold, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church provides the latest ammunition for shooting down the morale of Cuba’s brave dissidents. Griswold led a cartel of Episcopal Church Center staff members on an official visit, hosted by the Episcopal Church of Cuba, in late February 2006. During his six days in Havana, Griswold denounced U.S. policy towards Cuba as “inhuman,” but had no equal words of condemnation for Castro’s brutal regime. The Christians and other political prisoners, who languish in the Combinado and the rest of the 300 prisons that have spread like sores across the island since the revolution, went unnoticed.

Despite the NCC's and Griswolds of this world, I know God has not forgotten the people of Cuba. He has given us people like Faith McDonnell and organizations like the Institute on Religion and Democracy, and their exposing of Cuba's reality, that will help free the Cuban spirit from fidel castro's imposed purgatory.

Please take a moment to read the whole article here. There is also another excellent article from the Institute of Religion and Democracy on Abdul Rahman here.

Journalists and dissidents in Cuba are being harrassed constantly. Where are the US and World meida and why are they so damned quiet on the subject?

Via Cubanet:

Wife of imprisoned dissident released from jail

HAVANA, March 28 (Leonel Alberto Pérez Belette / www.cubanet.org) - Independent journalist Lamaciel Gutiérrez Romero, who reports for Nueva Prensa Cubana, was given a conditional release from jail last week.

Gutiérrez Romero had been arrested October 11 and later sentenced to seven months in jail on charges of disobedience and resisting arrest.

Her husband, Rolando Jiménez Posadas, has been imprisoned for three years on charges of insult, enemy propaganda and revealing state secrets.

Police search home of opposition pacifist

PINAR DEL RIO, Cuba, March 28 (Rafael Ferro Salas, Abdala Press / www.cubanet.org) - Two political police agents searched the home of Juan González Lugo, a member of the opposition People's Party.

"The policemen showed up at my house and without showing me any search warrants searched everywhere," he said. "They didn't find anything, but they insisted that they knew I had visited the home of the delegate of the People's Party and that I had propaganda in my possession."

González Lugo said the agents promised to return in the next few days to look for the propaganda.

Political police threaten journalist for Abdala Press

PINAR DEL RIO, Cuba, March 28 (Rafael Ferro Salas, Abdala Press/ www.cubanet.org) - Two political police agents entered the home of Genaro Martínez, a reporter for Abdala Press, and threatened him last week, the journalist said.

"They told me the purpose of their visit was to talk to me about my activities as a reporter for a dissident news agency, Abdala Press," he said.

He said they took his identity card and issued a citation to appear the next day at the municipal police headquarters, where he was issued a warning.

He said the pair also searched his home and took a shortwave radio and a camera.

Dissident's telephone service cut

CIEGO DE AVILA, Cuba, March 28 (Abel Escobar Ramírez / www.cubanet.org) - Waldímar Parra Santana, president of the Independent Farmworkers League, says he has been without telephone service since February 9.

He said service was cut after the municipal president of the block committees visited his mother and played for her the tape of a news story he had filed to Radio Martí. He said the official accused him of using his telephone for "counterrevolutionary" activities.

Parra Santana said he has been many times to the Empresa de Tele Comunicaciones de Cuba (ETECSA) but is always told that nothing can be done to reestablish his telephone service.

That is the question.

I’m only 36 but I am an old school, hard line intransigent anti-castro, Cuban-American. That means that I support the embargo (as limited as it is) and other trade and travel restrictions on Cuba. In this online clash of ideas I’m often asked why the United States should try to isolate Cuba with sanctions while at the same time trading with China. After all China is communist too. It’s an interesting point. The purpose of the question is brand the United States as hypocritical by equating China with Cuba. But there are some very big differences between the two situations. I hope to enlighten you with my thoughts on the matter.

Continue reading To trade or not trade…

As the newest contributor to Babalu, I'm honored and humbled to be in such great company. I hope you enjoy my musings in the coming weeks and months. I will not be abandoning my other blog or my web site but I'm very happy to be here, blogging under those beautiful all-seeing, all-knowing eyes.

Cuba Nostalgia Convention time is quickly approaching and Im way behind schedule in everything, especially fundraising. You all know that I, being Cuban, hate to ask for handouts and donations. Unfortunately with the convention fast approaching and with all the preparations I need to be doing, I dont have much time to do much of the fundraising stuff I had planned.

So consider this post fair warning folks, for the following Cubanism will apply:

Soltar el gallo.

Literal translation: Release the rooster.

Meaning: Time to ante up.

We will humbly be accepting donations starting next week to help defer the costs of the exhibit at the Cuba Nostalgia Convention.

We will also be doing something totally Cuban: Una Tombola! A raffle where different Cuba related prizes will be won. Still working on those logistics, but I think its a great idea.

So stay tuned, and have the checkbooks ready, cause my wife will kill me if I spend so much out of pocket this year like I did last year.

You may have already read elsewhere that I was interviewed on Canadian radio last night as result of the Fariñas BlogBurst. The show was The World Tonight with Rob Breakenridge on AM770 CHQR in Calgary Canada. To be honest, I was a bit nervous and just like the Radio Mambi interview some time back, I cant for the life of me remember verbatim what was asked or what I responded.

I do know that I kept using "you know" repeatedly. I didnt have a chance to record the show, but CHQR has an audio vault where, with a free registration, you have access to all their shows.

Just click here and follow the registration instructions. Once youve completed the registration process, login and in the audio vault look for Monday, March 27, at 8 pm. You'll have to listen for about a half hour before I come on.

I think I did alright, despite the "you knows", you know?