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	<title>Comments on: How can we stand in the way of love?</title>
	<atom:link href="http://babalublog.com/2009/04/how-can-we-stand-in-the-way-of-love/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://babalublog.com/2009/04/how-can-we-stand-in-the-way-of-love/</link>
	<description>...an island on the net without a bearded dictator</description>
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		<title>By: Humberto Fontova</title>
		<link>http://babalublog.com/2009/04/how-can-we-stand-in-the-way-of-love/#comment-94260</link>
		<dc:creator>Humberto Fontova</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:39:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://babalublog.com/?p=19670#comment-94260</guid>
		<description>Interesting, the ONE press outfit to use this photo (Fox) is the one without a Havana Bureau? 
It&#039;s certainly an attention-fetching photo. 

So what&#039;s keeping CNN, ABC and all those other &quot;Dauntless crusaders for the Truth&quot; (as Columbia School of Journalism hails it&#039;s staff and students) from using it.....hummmmmmm?

Unreal.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Interesting, the ONE press outfit to use this photo (Fox) is the one without a Havana Bureau?<br />
It's certainly an attention-fetching photo. </p>
<p>So what's keeping CNN, ABC and all those other "Dauntless crusaders for the Truth" (as Columbia School of Journalism hails it's staff and students) from using it.....hummmmmmm?</p>
<p>Unreal.</p>
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		<title>By: Gabe Marks</title>
		<link>http://babalublog.com/2009/04/how-can-we-stand-in-the-way-of-love/#comment-94248</link>
		<dc:creator>Gabe Marks</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:20:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://babalublog.com/?p=19670#comment-94248</guid>
		<description>This photo is pretty typical in or around any tourist zone today.  The Cubans won&#039;t say anything to anyone&#039;s face, but it&#039;s one reason why so many guys in Havana will spit in contempt on the ground when they see any tourist walk by.  

Why do you think French, German, Spanish, Mexican, and Canadian businessmen go back and forth to Cuba over and over again?  For the excellent deals on cheap rice and beans?  The Americans are using the humanitarian and religious licenses as a cover for a de-facto sex-tourism also, it&#039;s a pretty open understanding (at least outside of Miami)....

Most Cubans don&#039;t give a rat&#039;s ass about &#039;more tourists&#039; on the island because they know it won&#039;t benefit them at all.  Increased tourism (and photos like this) is going to cause more problems for the Cuban government, not less.  Imagine what happens when photos of older foreign men and quite young black boys in erotic embrace on the white sands of Varadero start to appear?

Incidently, a more recent scam in Havana is that now the jineteras and la patrolia will sometimes combine forces to shake down the foreign tourist.  It works with a couple of attractive young girls picking up a tourist and escorting him back to the hotel when &quot;suddenly&quot;, la patrollia will arrive and discover one of the young ladies is underage.  The panicked tourist is given the options of opening his wallet or heading to an unknown location for interrogation (until the situation is sorted out).  20 to 40 CUC to the officer usually does the trick, but I have heard of guys kicking over as much as 80-100.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This photo is pretty typical in or around any tourist zone today.  The Cubans won't say anything to anyone's face, but it's one reason why so many guys in Havana will spit in contempt on the ground when they see any tourist walk by.  </p>
<p>Why do you think French, German, Spanish, Mexican, and Canadian businessmen go back and forth to Cuba over and over again?  For the excellent deals on cheap rice and beans?  The Americans are using the humanitarian and religious licenses as a cover for a de-facto sex-tourism also, it's a pretty open understanding (at least outside of Miami)....</p>
<p>Most Cubans don't give a rat's ass about 'more tourists' on the island because they know it won't benefit them at all.  Increased tourism (and photos like this) is going to cause more problems for the Cuban government, not less.  Imagine what happens when photos of older foreign men and quite young black boys in erotic embrace on the white sands of Varadero start to appear?</p>
<p>Incidently, a more recent scam in Havana is that now the jineteras and la patrolia will sometimes combine forces to shake down the foreign tourist.  It works with a couple of attractive young girls picking up a tourist and escorting him back to the hotel when "suddenly", la patrollia will arrive and discover one of the young ladies is underage.  The panicked tourist is given the options of opening his wallet or heading to an unknown location for interrogation (until the situation is sorted out).  20 to 40 CUC to the officer usually does the trick, but I have heard of guys kicking over as much as 80-100.</p>
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		<title>By: Jerome</title>
		<link>http://babalublog.com/2009/04/how-can-we-stand-in-the-way-of-love/#comment-94241</link>
		<dc:creator>Jerome</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:44:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://babalublog.com/?p=19670#comment-94241</guid>
		<description>The first thing I thought of this photo -- this lady&#039;s using him to get out of the country!</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The first thing I thought of this photo -- this lady's using him to get out of the country!</p>
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		<title>By: I R A Darth Aggie</title>
		<link>http://babalublog.com/2009/04/how-can-we-stand-in-the-way-of-love/#comment-94237</link>
		<dc:creator>I R A Darth Aggie</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:05:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://babalublog.com/?p=19670#comment-94237</guid>
		<description>At least he&#039;s apparently not interested in small boys...</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>At least he's apparently not interested in small boys...</p>
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		<title>By: Val Prieto</title>
		<link>http://babalublog.com/2009/04/how-can-we-stand-in-the-way-of-love/#comment-94234</link>
		<dc:creator>Val Prieto</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:45:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://babalublog.com/?p=19670#comment-94234</guid>
		<description>That isnt Rob Sequin of Havana Journal in the picture, is it? I mean, Im pretty sure it aint Phil Peters...</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>That isnt Rob Sequin of Havana Journal in the picture, is it? I mean, Im pretty sure it aint Phil Peters...</p>
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		<title>By: Anatasio Blanco</title>
		<link>http://babalublog.com/2009/04/how-can-we-stand-in-the-way-of-love/#comment-94233</link>
		<dc:creator>Anatasio Blanco</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:38:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://babalublog.com/?p=19670#comment-94233</guid>
		<description>No one cares.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>No one cares.</p>
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		<title>By: asombra</title>
		<link>http://babalublog.com/2009/04/how-can-we-stand-in-the-way-of-love/#comment-94226</link>
		<dc:creator>asombra</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:25:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://babalublog.com/?p=19670#comment-94226</guid>
		<description>The girl may not be a minor, but she&#039;s definitely young enough to be his granddaughter. He&#039;s probably a repeat visitor, or will be (if he doesn&#039;t die first). So this is what the glorious revolution has come to. Imagine that.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The girl may not be a minor, but she's definitely young enough to be his granddaughter. He's probably a repeat visitor, or will be (if he doesn't die first). So this is what the glorious revolution has come to. Imagine that.</p>
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		<title>By: Ziva Sahl</title>
		<link>http://babalublog.com/2009/04/how-can-we-stand-in-the-way-of-love/#comment-94223</link>
		<dc:creator>Ziva Sahl</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:04:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://babalublog.com/?p=19670#comment-94223</guid>
		<description>I meant to include the link:

http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Cuba.htm</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I meant to include the link:</p>
<p><a href="http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Cuba.htm" rel="nofollow">http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Cuba.htm</a></p>
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		<title>By: Honey</title>
		<link>http://babalublog.com/2009/04/how-can-we-stand-in-the-way-of-love/#comment-94222</link>
		<dc:creator>Honey</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:54:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://babalublog.com/?p=19670#comment-94222</guid>
		<description>But Law and Order always has programs about sexploitation and isn&#039;t it just awful? They never show how Cuba is a transit point for smuggling. They never have shows on Cuba&#039;s use of prostitution. I&#039;d bet programs like this could influence many against the embargo if they decided to show Cuban people fleeing this and coming to America. 
How come this is in the state department and not part of public knowledge?</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>But Law and Order always has programs about sexploitation and isn't it just awful? They never show how Cuba is a transit point for smuggling. They never have shows on Cuba's use of prostitution. I'd bet programs like this could influence many against the embargo if they decided to show Cuban people fleeing this and coming to America.<br />
How come this is in the state department and not part of public knowledge?</p>
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		<title>By: Ziva Sahl</title>
		<link>http://babalublog.com/2009/04/how-can-we-stand-in-the-way-of-love/#comment-94220</link>
		<dc:creator>Ziva Sahl</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:36:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://babalublog.com/?p=19670#comment-94220</guid>
		<description>Oh, but castro has outlasted all those presidents, kicked out the mob, closed the casinos, it&#039;s a paradise with the best healthcare and education, and he kicked out the depraved Americans and ended prostitution.  Why not end the embargo and make nice with Cuba&#039;s savior. We can even learn something about surviving peak oil.  Never mind the moral consequences of doing business with a mass murdering depraved dictator. Sickening.
From the State Dept:
Cuba is principally a source country for women and children trafficked within the country for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Some families push child victims to prostitute themselves as a means of increasing family income. Cuban children and adults also may be exploited for forced labor. The full scope of trafficking within Cuba is difficult to gauge due to the closed nature of the government and sparse non-governmental or independent reporting. However, by all accounts, the country is a destination for sex tourism, including child sex tourism, which is a problem in many areas of the country. Cuba’s thriving sex trade caters to numerous European, Canadian, and Latin American tourists every year. State-run hotel workers, travel employees, cab drivers, and police steer tourists to prostituted women and children and facilitate their commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes extorting money or pay-offs from victims. Limited sex trafficking of Cuban women to Mexico, The Bahamas, and Western Europe has been reported. Some Cuban nationals willingly migrate to the United States, but are subsequently exploited for forced labor by their smugglers. Cuba also is a transit point for the smuggling of migrants from China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Lebanon, and other nations to the United States and Canada. Some of these migrants may be trafficking victims, who are subject to forced labor, sexual exploitation, and abuse.   - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2008</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Oh, but castro has outlasted all those presidents, kicked out the mob, closed the casinos, it's a paradise with the best healthcare and education, and he kicked out the depraved Americans and ended prostitution.  Why not end the embargo and make nice with Cuba's savior. We can even learn something about surviving peak oil.  Never mind the moral consequences of doing business with a mass murdering depraved dictator. Sickening.<br />
From the State Dept:<br />
Cuba is principally a source country for women and children trafficked within the country for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Some families push child victims to prostitute themselves as a means of increasing family income. Cuban children and adults also may be exploited for forced labor. The full scope of trafficking within Cuba is difficult to gauge due to the closed nature of the government and sparse non-governmental or independent reporting. However, by all accounts, the country is a destination for sex tourism, including child sex tourism, which is a problem in many areas of the country. Cuba’s thriving sex trade caters to numerous European, Canadian, and Latin American tourists every year. State-run hotel workers, travel employees, cab drivers, and police steer tourists to prostituted women and children and facilitate their commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes extorting money or pay-offs from victims. Limited sex trafficking of Cuban women to Mexico, The Bahamas, and Western Europe has been reported. Some Cuban nationals willingly migrate to the United States, but are subsequently exploited for forced labor by their smugglers. Cuba also is a transit point for the smuggling of migrants from China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Lebanon, and other nations to the United States and Canada. Some of these migrants may be trafficking victims, who are subject to forced labor, sexual exploitation, and abuse.   - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2008</p>
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		<title>By: Mambi</title>
		<link>http://babalublog.com/2009/04/how-can-we-stand-in-the-way-of-love/#comment-94219</link>
		<dc:creator>Mambi</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:52:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://babalublog.com/?p=19670#comment-94219</guid>
		<description>No shit, you could run a pretty powerful anti-regime campaign off of it.  Man, if people would only open their eyes and listen.  Now, I want to see the comments of the anti-embargo, pro-travel shitbags.  In their twisted, sick minds, they&#039;ll probably claim that we&#039;ll get rid of that depravity by helping the regime.  Geez, I&#039;m still sick...

Excellent Post, if painful to watch.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>No shit, you could run a pretty powerful anti-regime campaign off of it.  Man, if people would only open their eyes and listen.  Now, I want to see the comments of the anti-embargo, pro-travel shitbags.  In their twisted, sick minds, they'll probably claim that we'll get rid of that depravity by helping the regime.  Geez, I'm still sick...</p>
<p>Excellent Post, if painful to watch.</p>
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		<title>By: Alberto de la Cruz</title>
		<link>http://babalublog.com/2009/04/how-can-we-stand-in-the-way-of-love/#comment-94218</link>
		<dc:creator>Alberto de la Cruz</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:43:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://babalublog.com/?p=19670#comment-94218</guid>
		<description>Mambi:

They say a picture is worth a thousand words--well, this one is worth a few million.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Mambi:</p>
<p>They say a picture is worth a thousand words--well, this one is worth a few million.</p>
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		<title>By: Mambi</title>
		<link>http://babalublog.com/2009/04/how-can-we-stand-in-the-way-of-love/#comment-94217</link>
		<dc:creator>Mambi</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:40:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://babalublog.com/?p=19670#comment-94217</guid>
		<description>Oh My God!  Alberto, I was eating breakfast when I saw it, now I&#039;m ready to barf.  That is truly a powerful picture. With a sad, instructive story behind it of what a depraved system that is and why it needs to be finally strangled to death, rather than cuddled and kept alive.  Jimminy Crickets, how sick....Dios Mio...</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Oh My God!  Alberto, I was eating breakfast when I saw it, now I'm ready to barf.  That is truly a powerful picture. With a sad, instructive story behind it of what a depraved system that is and why it needs to be finally strangled to death, rather than cuddled and kept alive.  Jimminy Crickets, how sick....Dios Mio...</p>
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