What this media ploy demonstrates is the only genius of the ruling military junta in Havana. They have murdered and pillaged, oppressed a people and mismanaged an economy, dragged a nation backwards into the third world, into the Stalinist era. They are surrounded by the desolation they have created, but, hey, they have a diabolical knack for propaganda. For decades it is they who have framed the discussion. This ostensibly humanitarian gesture has seemingly blinded the world community to the continued repression of half a century. And Cuban Americans, as usual, are left looking like... like, well, hardliners.

Let me explain my perspective: suppose a mugger is kneeling on the chest of his victim, applying just enough pressure, not enough to completely kill the unfortunate, but enough to make it near impossible to breathe. In comes Spain and the Church ( Picture it like a morality play) who after much cajoling and pleading succeed in convincing the aforementioned mugger to shift a little to the right allowing the victim just a bit more oxygen. Am I supposed to celebrate?

True, I am gladdened that the victim is afforded a bit more freedom. In this sense, I wholeheartedly rejoice that the beaten and tortured will no longer be beaten and tortured, just forced into permanent exile from their mother country for the crime of having an opinion. But I will not bang cymbals and jump up and down in ecstasy until the criminal is gone and victim is at last freed.

The Sarasota Herald Tribune today carried the news that the Sarasota-Havana Regatta being planned by the Sarasota Yacht Club has been postponed due to lack of permit.  After being clued in by Ziva, I had limited myself to posting about it in my blog, but to read the stupidity being spouted by the same entity, today of all days, was too much.  So after penning a Letter to the Editor, I thought the yacht club could benefit from a bit of consciousness raising. I can only conclude that they are either ignorant or insensible.  Neither option is flattering to the would be mariners

Yacht club site here.

Today, reports are that the  Pontiff has come out to let us know that Cuba is loosening the strictures against religion, and all is right with the world, so now there should be reconciliation with the United States.  His Holiness further expressed sympathy for the suffering of the Cuban people due to the economic downturn, natural disasters and, oh, yes, the economic embargo.  The Holy Father did not express sympathy for the human rights protestors being beaten, essentially even as he made his remarks. 

Are Cubans less than human?  What is that quote?  Do they not bleed?  Are they not entitled to the same rights and freedoms enjoyed by those who continue to enable the regime in the misguided quest for rapprochment.  There is no reconciliation with evil.  You would think, he of all men would know that.

Story here.

Did you know that the Smithsonian Postal Museum,  in conjunction with the San Carlos Institute in Key West, maintains an interesting website about Cuban stamps/aviation/history?  I didn't.  

The actual philatelic (always wanted to use that word)  exhibit, the Pichs Collection, seems to be in Key West.  See Cigar Mike's earlier post for info about and a beautiful picture of the institute.

The Keith Roma who called his father from Fire Patrol 2 in Greenwich Village on 9/11 was not the one I once knew.  He was not a high school boy with a sheepish grin and an impish glint in his eye, a bright student always up for a bit of fun.  The Keith Roma who picked up that phone on the last morning of his life to tell his Dad that the unthinkable had happened was a 27 year old man in the prime of life.

Responding to the World Trade Center after the first plane hit, Keith, who according to coworkers already had a reputation for being there when things got rough, was captured in a photograph as he helped evacuees to safety.  According to Sgt. John Sheehan, his superior, Keith undertook another three trips into Tower 1.  At one point, he is reported to have carried a woman with no shoes down glass-strewn stairs. The last time he was seen, he was with a group evacuating an overweight woman. Reports indicate that when his remains were found that Christmas, it was with those of another eight or nine people, leading to the supposition that he was assisting in yet another evacuation. 

Initially, his name did not appear on the Fire Department tally of those lost because Keith worked for the Fire Patrol, an entity encharged with salvage at commercial fires.  But in 2006, the New York Fire Department paid official tribute to his memory in a bronze plaque.  Firefighters across the country have honored him as one of their own.  Not all tributes have been that formal.  His hometown paper reports that the week after the tragedy, his family was approached at the station house by a young woman bearing flowers.  She explained that one afternoon, Keith had spotted her crying and learning that she was grieving the loss of her mother had ducked into a store only to reappear with a bouquet.  It was a kindness she did not forget and which she sought to return. A former coworker at a second job also attests to his compassion.  All remember his ready smile and enthusiasm, particularly for sports.

There is a picture at a memorial website of Keith holding his daughter as an infant.  There is the same expression I remember, that trademark grin.  There is no indication in the photo that it is the face of a young man who would race into a burning building to rescue others, who would perish in the line of duty.  In short, that it is the face of heroism.  Vaya con Dios, Keith, you have not been forgotten.

The AFP  informs that Thursday's State Department easing of remittance and family travel restrictions  didn't go far enough for the Cuban dictatorship.   The tone of the denunciation decrying the move as a "cosmetic coat of paint," something they know a thing or two about, would seem to strike a harsh note. 

Of course, it is not unusual for an American President to have his outstretched hand slapped away.  Still, some clues to the frenetic tone of the response can be found here.  It's the embargo they want lifted, d'ya think?

Not surprisingly, Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, taking a page from cronies Chavez, Morales, et al, is seeking a referendum to change the Nicaraguan Constitution so he can run for re-election.  The people, he declares, should be able to choose their own leaders.  One can only hope that "the people" take instruction from their northern neighbor and stop the beast.  Wonder if the results are ready yet?  Read it here.

It would seem a shame that someone championing a seminar entitled "Rapprochement With Cuba: Good for Tampa Bay, Good For Florida, Good For America" hosted  by an entity which calls  itself  the “Alliance for Responsible Cuba Policy” would not exercise a bit of that same spirit of rapprochement toward his fellow American citizens, or even a bit of responsibility. 

 Joe O’Neill’s diatribe in a local paper seemingly directed at the public officials who opted not to attend is rife with slurs and inaccuracies directed at Cuban Americans.  The now conventional use of hardliners to describe people who want nothing more than the same freedoms for their fellow man that people like Mr. O’Neill enjoy is supplemented here with repeated quotes from the president of said organization, one Al Fox, who in a supreme example of irony accuses a handful of “Bastitianos” of limiting American freedoms.  As a side note, it is interesting to see that Mr. Fox avails himself of the castrian lexicon.  I would say that given the repeated election of those South Florida politicians Mr. O’Neill decries, the ones who hold Wasserman-Schultz and Meeks in their “pockets,” there would seem to be more than a handful of these same.

 In what passes for reasoning here, Fox asks whether Taiwan can tell the US not to have relations with mainland China, implicit of course is the notion that Cuban Americans are foreigners dictating American foreign policy and not citizens exercising their right to vote.  Mr. O’Neill- not to be left behind- creates his own parallel with Iran.  Americans can travel to Iran, he informs us.  But, aah, how many mojitos are there in downtown Tehran?  You can bet that if Americans tourists were enriching Iranian coffers, there would be a hue and cry to end travel there.  Speaking of which, how many organizations for “Responsible Iran Policy” have you seen?

 Of course, the purported benefits of easing restrictions are grossly exaggerated.  Trade by definition would seem to require payment, something  the Cuban government seems particularly adept at evading.  Then there is the notion, put forth by Tampa Port Authority member Carl Lindell, that Cuba is not a terrorist state.  No, Mr. Lindell, it no longer has nuclear warheads pointed at our cities as it once did, now the ruling military junta uses its anti-American propaganda, advisors, and willing stooges like Chavez to spread its totalitarian ideology.  If Cuba no longer sends armies, it’s because it can’t afford to.   It is no less an enemy.   

A little article in a local paper about a small gathering in an American city, but a marvelous exemplar of  people who would cut out the offending member if they were ever to utter the “n” word but who have absolutely no difficulty defaming and trivializing Cuban Americans.

Yes, you have to wonder what fuels someone like  Brendan McCaffrey.  I ignored this when it first appeared in the Miami Herald.  Could be I was still smarting from their latest editorial, which I also chose to ignore.  But then I stumbled on the same advice on a PR news wire.  To what end?  Publicity?  It is certainly not altruism.  Just take a gander at his specific  proposals which read like a castrovian wish list seasoned with a dash of bigotry:

--  Remove Cuba from the State Department list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.

   --  Repeal enforcement of the outmoded Helms-Burton legislation.

  --  End the economic embargo.

     --  End U.S. restrictions on travel by American citizens.

  --  Close the detention facility at Guantanamo and return the base to Cuban sovereignty. The place has become an international  embarrassment to us.

 --  End the 'Wet Foot/Dry Foot immigration policy' and treat illegal immigrants from Cuba as we do those from Mexico or any other country.

   --  Formalize coordination on anti-drug trafficking matters.

   --  Provide significantly increased funds to the U.S. Agency for International Development.

  --  End U.S. opposition to Cuban participation in Western Hemisphere multilateral agreements.

Let's see, we give them legitimacy, money, even Guantanamo,  in return for which we get the same power to influence events as, say, Spain presently has.   And he's teaching international affairs at West Point?

Had to share this with you all.  Here's some opinion from Pravda.ru.  Yup, Pravda.  I'm not sure what to make of it, but I found it interesting.  I'll leave you with the author's parting shot:

The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

I fantasize that one day, I'll open the paper and read that headline.  It is, after all, essentially the case. Aside from idealogues, the greatest chearleaders for ending the embargo and attendant travel restrictions, are almost invariably ranchers, farmers, wouldbe investors.  The latest entity- doubtless fueled by the desire to democratize Cuba one tourist at a time- to enter the lists is none other than  Orbitz.  Yup, of Orbitz.com fame.  Seems they wanted to throw their weight behind a social cause and apparently decided that bailing out a totalitarian dictatorship while lining their pockets fit the bill better than, say, ending world hunger.  

It would seem that some sort of campaign of our own might be called for.  Suggestions?  Read the Seattle Times article about their orchestrated campaign here, complete with link to online petition.   Sign up and they'll give you a one hundred dollar coupon toward travel in Cuba.  Bajate del asiento, Ñiquito.

in the continuing saga of those who, based on a combination of ignorance and wishful thinking, would prop up the ruling military junta in Havana.  Tomorrow retired Gen Barry McCaffrey will testify on US/Cuba relations before a House committee.  Details here in a Press Release.

I might find the General more impressive were he not one of the signatories to this letter which boasts such claims as this one:

Though economically weak, the Castro government has kept the broad support of its people by responding to economic shocks and providing universal access to health care and education. There will be no counter-revolution any time soon.

So you see, folks, it's not the machinery of oppression, or the Stalinist tactics, it's the universal healthcare, stupid!  This is but one example.  Talk about your informed policy. Sheesh.

Gallup has come out with a poll which has 60% of Americans polled as favoring establishing relations, 51% in favor of lifting the embargo, and 64% for American travel to the island.  Given the unholy trio of media, academia, and mindless dolts in entertainment, not to mention the pictures of Europeans lounging on the beaches with nubile young women and the cries of farmers and businessmen lamenting how much money we have lost through the embargo, we might consider ourselves pretty lucky to have 40% against.  Think about it.  Any average  American under 45 has learned about Cuba from the likes of  Social Studies teachers, the New York Times and its ilk, and Sean Penn and confederates.   Need I say more?

It might have been interesting to see the respondents' answers to some Cuban literacy questions, questions which would perhaps have given a bit more context to their opinions:

What is the system of government in Cuba?

Why was the embargo originally imposed?

Who is Oscar Elias Biscet, Yoani Sanchez (Pick one)?

The answers might be telling, indeed.

Seems Cubans have more than one friend at Yale. I knew about Professor Carlos Eire, author of the most moving memoir- Waiting for Snow in Havana- and staunch friend of Cuban freedom, as well as of this blog. But here is a commentary from another, Roberto González Echevarría, in which he indicates that Obama should ask for a bit of reciprocity from the regime. Most surprising of all is the venue here: CNN. My, is that a pig I see above me?

For me, the money quote:

My apprehension about enacting policies that will improve economic conditions on the island is that they will only serve to strengthen the white, male gerontocracy's grip on power. In totalitarian regimes with no transparency or input by the people on the allotment of funds, history shows that the ruling class keeps the lion's share. Cuba is no exception.

Read it for yourself here.

Cross-posted at Ninety miles

Take that you intransigent hardliners! Chalk up another one for the ruling military junta. Not because as the media would have you believe, it is a sign of the eroding support for holding said misgoverning body accountable, but rather because it is a win-win situation for the Havana strongmen. They have gained untold millions without losing a single cog in the machinery of repression. Because of today’s announcement, tomorrow, no independent librarian is going to be able to enter a bookstore and buy a copy of Animal Farm. No newspaper is going to print an op-ed piece by Maria Beatriz Roque or Hector Palacios. Not a single prisoner of conscience is going to see the dawn a free man. Nothing has essentially changed. Well, almost nothing.

700 million dollars. That is the total of remittances sent to Cuba under the much maligned Bush rules which allowed Cuban Americans to send 1200 dollars a year-300 hundred a quarter- to relatives on the blighted island. Some calculate the figure at a billion dollars. Of that money, about 25% goes directly into the pockets of the regime in the form of a punishing exchange tariff. Ka-ching. The rest, as it makes its way to the street vendor, the black market, whatever, supplies desperately needed- since the country suffers from a chronic case of Marxist induced anemia- lifeblood to the economy. Ka-ching. Finally, by easing the pressure created by perpetual want on the regime…. Priceless.

Essentially, by lifting the restrictions on remittances, the American government has moved to provide a subsidy to the moribund Communist dictatorship. Yes, there are humanitarian considerations. No one is more aware of these. To us Cubans are not an abstraction. They have names: Nito and Berta and Fefa and Blanca and Juan. They have titles: Mami, Abuela, Tio, Prima. But there is a difference between sending over enough to keep the wolf from the door and feeding the beast.

As always seems the case, common sense never seems to inform our policies. The previous rules denied the importance of uncles, aunts, cousins, an important consideration now that the older generations are dying off. The new ones make dorming with a Cuban roommate a qualification for sending money. The limit on remittances under the old policy was generous for a population with an average income of 20 dollars a month. Under the new rules, I fear our tendency to get carried away and turn a seemingly beneficent gesture into financial bovine the likes of which fidel never even envisioned for his mini cow.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus might do well to read a report put out by Hans de Salas del Valle, associate of the The Cuba Transition Project over at University of Miami, as they sun themselves on the beach at Varadero.  Some highlights:

Afro-Cubans comprise over 60 percent of the island’s population, yet… [1]

• Black and dark-skinned multiracial Cubans constitute only five percent of hospitality workers catering to Europeans and other tourists' international joint ventures with foreign firms (which tend to offer the highest wages by Cuban standards), while making up nearly 70 percent of the state-run labor force. [2]

• Moreover, only about 35 percent of managerial positions in the state-run sector are held by black and biracial (mulatto) Cubans. [3]
• Afro-Cubans are disproportionately represented in the prison population -- 80 percent of Cuba’s inmates are black or mulatto. [4]

• Cubans of European ancestry receive as much as 250 percent more in remittances (cash subsidies) from family abroad than their Afro-Cuban neighbors. Growing income disparities may in turn be affecting the educational opportunities as well as occupational options of many Cubans of African ancestry. [5]

• In terms of higher education, Afro-Cubans are already perceived to be woefully underrepresented – accounting for as little as three percent of university enrollments. [6]

h/t misceláneas de Cuba

Not content with the conventional lack of wisdom that hordes of mojito- swilling, jinetera-loving American tourists will accomplish what hundreds of thousands foreigners have failed to do- make an opening for democracy- or the hand wringing at the thought of the millions of dollars US business are losing out on by not being able to trade with Cuba, travel restriction lifters are taking a new tack.  Jobs.  Yup.  Check this out.

Removing the travel ban would produce a burst of tourism, create thousands of jobs and generate as much as $1.6 billion in business a year, an independent research group said

Independent of what or whom, I wonder.  I thought I'd seen it all.

In a move seemingly linked to finances, the Sun-Sentinel is closing down its Havana bureau, recalling reporter Ray Sanchez who had the distinction of being the last print reporter based in Havana. Still left on the island are NBC, AP, and CNN.  Report here.

At least two of the names being mentioned for MGM's Three Stooges movie seem particularly apropos.  Given their glorification of certain unsavory characters, Mssrs. Penn and Del Toro would already seem to have experience in their roles.  Article here.

Glowing report in the Tampa Bay Business Journal about the Cuba trade expo, the opportunities to do business with Cuba just waiting to be plucked like some ripe fruit.   One would think that an organ which purports to be a business journal has some obligation to ground its reporting in fact.  But apparently kids aren't the only one neglecting homework these days.

It's really not surprising that we are in the economic mess we're in when this, uncorrected,  is what passes for savvy business and business reporting:

But, growth in U.S. exports to Cuba is being held back by hard-line rules that prevent U.S. shippers from offering credit to Cuban importers.

“The non-U.S. companies can offer credit, but the U.S. cannot offer credit,” said Kirby Jones, whose consultancy, Alamar Associates, helps U.S. companies do business with Cuba.

You betcha it does.  Paris Club, anyone?