Silvio Canto Jr.

“Tapate la boca, Correa”: We don’t have to buy broccoli from you!

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President Correa of Ecuador can not get away with saying this:

“Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa said that American exceptionalism is reminiscent of Nazism “before and during World War II.”
“Does not this remind you of the Nazis’ rhetoric before and during World War II? They considered themselves the chosen race, the superior race, etc. Such words and ideas pose extreme danger,” Correa told RT Spanish. Correa referred to President Barack Obama’s statement that “America is exceptional” because it stands up for the world’s interests not just its own.
However, Correa said that the U.S. has and will continue to violate international law.”

Outrageous. You can’t allow someone to get away with a statement like that without some consequences.

We buy lots of broccoli, and other agricultural products from Ecuador.

Therefore, I call on the US to officially start looking for broccoli somewhere else.

Ecuador won’t have any trouble selling its oil.   However, what other country is going to buy the $166 million in “cut flowers”, vegetables and tuna?

We import $9 billion from Ecuador!

I guarantee you that the US will have no trouble buying these goods from other countries.  In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of Mr Correa’s Latin American neighbors would gladly replace Ecuador!

Some will say that the people of Ecuador should not be punished for their president’s stupid rhetoric.

You can say the same things about the businesses that move goods and services both ways in this trading relationship.

At the same time, you can’t allow a demagogue to comapre the US to Nazi Germany. You can’t!

Why didn’t Pres Obama address the nation about the military action in Africa?

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Looking for President Obama!

Maybe I got spoiled watching presidents from Nixon to GW Bush. I really want our president to go on TV and tell us about military operations and their objectives.  We deserve it, specially those of us with sons in the military.

Over the weekend, the Navy Seals attacked terrorist targets in Africa.

Again, where was President Obama? Why didn’t he make a brief statement on TV?

Perhaps President Obama does not want to talk about the new war developing in Africa.

This is not the Al Qaeda that we heard about during the 2012 campaign:

 “The Administration has seemed reluctant to act forcefully against al Qaeda in Africa lest it undermine President Obama’s claim that the terror network is defeated. The raids are a tacit admission that Mr. Obama has been overselling victory, but we’re nonetheless glad to see the U.S. going back on offense.”

Al Qaeda is alive and well. It’s time for President Obama to admit it publicly and tell us that we are back on offense.

We need to be on offense against terrorists.

I hope that we are taking these latest captured terrorists to GITMO for a little Q&A.   No Miranda rights!

 

Mama Hugo’s sick puppies and their troubled currencies

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Thumbs up to Fausta’s Blog for bringing this to our attention.

We got more news today that “Chavez’ babies” are sick and very sick.  Please get rid of those Venezuelan bolivares and Argentina pesos in your wallet.

Cristina’s “peso” and Hugo’s “bolivar” are in big trouble, the inevitable consequences of mismanagement and corruption!

Argentina and Venezuela are facing major currency pressures:

“Venezuela: While the crises in the Middle East are easing, the troubles in Venezuela are far from over. The black market exchange rate for the Venezuelan bolivar has fallen from 44.03 per U.S. dollar on September 24th to 40.92 on September 30th. This represents an appreciation of 7.6% over the last week.  The implied annual inflation rate as of September 30th sits at 255%, down from a local high of 292% on September 17th. The ConocoPhillips dispute, a massive blackout, and worsening shortages caused by price controls have ravaged the Venezuelans’ confidence in the bolivar over the month of September.

Although the bolivar has rebounded modestly in recent weeks, this simply indicates that the economic outlook in Venezuela is only slightly less miserable than it was in mid-September. The economy is still on a slippery slope and economic expectations continue to be weighed down by the fragile political atmosphere, worsening shortages, and the ever-present specter of political violence. An inflation rate of 255% is nothing to celebrate.

Argentina: The black market exchange rate for the Argentine peso has held steady at around 9.5 per U.S. dollar since September 25th, with a 9.55 exchange rate on September 30th. That represents a 2.9% decrease in the value of the currency from the September 22nd rate of 9.27. The implied annual inflation rate as of September 30th sits at 54%, a decrease from the rate of 49% on September 22nd.””

On the medical front, President Cristina Fernandez will be spending the next month in the hospital.    She is suffering from a “brain haematoma:.  She may want to stay in the hospital a lot more than a month after she gets a currency report.

Over in Caracas, President Maduro is running a “crumbling economy” and hearing that he’s bankrupted the country.

Another bad report card for Chavez’ disciples!

Chavez’s revolution is now a misery and a disaster.

 

“2 Cubanitos” remember growing up Cuban in the US!

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We love reminiscing about our experiences of growing up Cuban in the US.

We were all inspired years ago when our friend Carlos Eire wrote his Pedro Pan memoirs.    I think that Carlos’ work reminded all of us that there was a Cuban past to be discussed and stories to be shared.

Furthermore, we all have parents who made great sacrifices to come here and start anew.     I can assure you that sharing these Cuban stories has made me appreciate my parents very much.  I appreciate their sacrifices, or what they were willing to do so that their kids could grow up in freedom rather than the communist tyranny in Cuba.

Check out my chat with Jorge Ponce, a contributor to Babalu and good friend.

Jorge has posted often here about his Cuban American experience.

He recently posted “The trials and tribulations of becoming an American“:

“I soon learned that there was a more diverse world out there.  I met Bolivians, Ecuadorians, Puerto Ricans, Argentineans, etc.  We all shared our Hispanic heritage and our Spanish language.  I was exposed to different dances, variations of idiomatic expressions, and fantastic food.  To my great surprise, some of my Hispanic friends did not share my same anti-communist views.  In fact, some thought that Fidel, El Che, and Ho Chi Minh were visionaries who had improved the standards of living of the proletariats in their countries.  Some even wore Che T-Shirts as a fashion statement or as a sign of protest against the “American Empire.” I realized that it was time to expand my network of friends.”

In contrast to Jorge, I grew up in Wisconsin and there were no Cubans or Latin Americans in my circles.

My “trials and tribulations” were simple:  “Ingles o no comes”!

I spent most of my early years in the US hearing about Cuba from my parents.  We had no friends from Latin America in school or neighborhood.  In fact, it was a “thrill” when my father, now working at a bank, would bring home a colleague from Chile or Colombia.  It was rare but enjoyable.

Let me say it again:  Share your Cuban stories with your kids.  Tell them about your Cuban past.  It will make you very proud of being Cuban American.

Please enjoy my chat with Jorge this weekend:

Listen in now at http://t.co/foS61KrmbW.

“El bobo de la yuca” will let some other “bobo” sign up for ObamaCare

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Beny More’s legendary Bobo de la Yuca “se quiere casar” but won’t be signing up anytime soon for ObamaCare.

According to news reports, Obama Care is off to a rather difficult start.    In fact, The Washington Post is literally looking for someone in a nation of 300 million people who has enrolled:

“If you have purchased health coverage on the federal government’s new Obamacare marketplace, about a dozen or so reporters would like to speak with you. We promise we won’t take up too much of your time!

We just need to find you first.

The federal government has said that somewhere out in this vast country of 313 million people, where 48 million lack insurance coverage, someone has managed to sign up for health insurance on the federally-run marketplaces. As of yet, we haven’t tracked this person – or these people – down.

This is not for lack of effort. Reporters here at The Washington Post and at other publications have been on the hunt for this mythical creature.”

Dios mio!  Didn’t we hear that everybody was just ready to sign up and get their affordable care?

According to other news reports, it is more like a “trickle rather than a wave“.

Apparently, one fellow did show up and posted on his page that he enrolled.

His name is Chad, a young man, or precisely the kind of new member that Obama Care will desperately need to pay the “higher premiums” to support the older participants.

What’s wrong with Chad?  Nothing, unless you think that being a volunteer for Organizing for America makes him a typical young man in the US.

Good for Chad!   However, the problem with ObamaCare is that there are millions of “Chads” & “Chad-ettes” who are not enrolling.

They are not buying online because ObamaCare is going to be very expensive rather than the affordable option that they heard about at the “yes we can” rally.

The Affordable Health Care Act is not affordable, as many are learning.

Also, ObamaCare: one size fleeces all!   The beauty of a private insurance market is that you have choices.  The nightmare of ObamaCare is that you are stuck in plans designed by congressional staffers.  It was eventually passed by representatives and senators who did not read what they voted for.

Have you signed up?  Call the aforementioned Washington Post!  They will put you on their front page!

We know that “El bobo de la yuca  se va casar y invita todo el munco a la capital”.

He plans to let some other “bobo” sign up for Obama Care!

 

“Jovenes hispanos sin palanca” will pay very high ObamaCare premiums!

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There are two problems with Obama Care.

The first one is that the law is full of waivers and exceptions.  Worse than that, these changes to the law were done by executive order rather than Congress.     This is a law that does not apply equally to all, unless you got “palanca” and received one of those waivers and exceptions.

It’s all about “palanca” with the Obama administration.   Can you say Solyndra?

The second problem is that Obama Care is based on young people paying higher premiums.    This is going to be a huge burden for Hispanics, a younger segment of the population.

My friend Israel Ortega, editor of Libertad.org and distinguished member of The Heritage Foundation, crunched a few numbers in his recent post:

“Here’s something you won’t hear from the Hispanic media, the mainstream media, or the White House: Among the many terrible side effects of Obamacare is its adverse effects on Hispanics.

This stems from the fact that the Hispanic population is one of the youngest, in addition to Obamacare’s impact on the wholesale and retail industry, which employs many Hispanic Americans.

Wholesale and retail will be hit especially hard by Obamacare, because, as one consultant noted, “employers not currently offering coverage to all employees working at least 30 hours a week may be more inclined to change their workforce strategy so that fewer employees meet that threshold.”

But don’t expect a press release on this hard truth, considering that the national unemployment rate for Hispanics is higher than the national average at almost 10 percent. Ignore the man behind the curtain who reminds you that retailers and hospitals are laying off workers and dropping coverage for part-time employees. Pay no attention to exemptions for labor unions and Members of Congress or the fact that a Senator from the President’s own party described Obamacare as a “train wreck.”

What’s more, considering that 65 percent of Hispanics are millennials, they can expect to pay more to cover costs for wealthier Americans. Rates will likely increase by an average of 169 percent for the young, while older people will pay about 22 percent less, according to Generation Opportunity, a national organization committed to promoting liberty to young Americans.”

There you have it!    Younger Hispanics will carry the burden of ObamaCare.  They will be required to sign up, pay the higher premiums and scream “si se puede” at the next “5 de Mayo” rally.

Wonder if they are going to scream “si se puede” when they hear about the premiums?

Some young Hispanos “tienen suerte” or they work for an employer who got a waiver   They will watch as the rest of their neighbors  come under ObamaCare.

Their neighbors will ask:  “Why doesn’t ObamaCare apply to you”?

The answer is:  “Mi patron tiene palanca”.

The young hispanics “que no tienen palanca” will call 1-800-318-2596.    I just hope that the “glitches” are not “glitching” anymore and that they don’t check what those phone digits translate to!

P.S. Check my chat with Horace Cooper of Project 21 about the impact of ObamaCare on minorities.

 

Maduro “esta muy podrido” in Venezuela!

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President Maduro of Venezuela may want to shoot that little “Hugo bird” who speaks to him from time to time.   Can you blame Maduro if he grabs the little bird by the neck and strangles him?

According to The NY Times, the people of Venezuela are not really into Maduro.  On the contrary, they miss Hugo, or at least “the Hugo of their dreams”:

“Prices are soaring, the country is plagued by electrical blackouts, some neighborhoods go days without water, and protests tangle the already stifling traffic. To top it all off, the cheap beer that helps people let off steam at many a weekend party has suddenly become scarce, too.

Nearly seven months after the death of Hugo Chávez, the country’s longtime leftist president and father figure, there is a growing sense that things are falling apart.”

To be fair, Venezuela’s problems were “Made by Hugo” all the way.  It was Chavez’ policies, from reckless spending to a horrible case of cronyism and corruption, that brought the country to this situation.

In other words, it did not start with Maduro but life is not fair specially when you hitch your wagon to a corrupt man like Hugo Chavez.

The problems in the country are rather severe and I am not talking about a shortage of toilet paper:

“Inflation in the first eight months of this year was more than triple the rate in the same period last year. When measured over the 12 months that ended in August, it exceeded 45 percent.

A government indicator that measures the scarcity of basic goods is close to its highest level in more than five years.”

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not defending President Maduro, a man who was “questionably” elected earlier this year after Chavez was officially pronounced dead.

All of these difficulties in the nation raise a legitimate question:  Will Maduro survive?

My opinion is that he won’t, no matter how many times he expels US diplomats or tells us that he had visions of Hugo.

Maduro probably wishes that they had kept Hugo connected to that life machine a bit longer.

Frankly, the end of Maduro is coming and it won’t be pretty.  I just hope that someone at the Obama White House is on top of events in Latin America.   Venezuela could come apart soon and Washington needs to be alert.

P.S. You can hear our chat about Colombia, Venezuela and other US-Latin America stories here.

A few thoughts about Che

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Our friend Humberto Fontova posted a great story about Che.

I loved that he referred to Che as a “….cowardly, murdering swine….”

Thumbs up to Humberto for one of the very best descriptions that I’ve ever heard of that swine named Che!

I sent my sons, nieces and other young friends a copy of the post.

I told them to read it and challenge the next person who comes into their college circles wearing a Che shirt.   Within seconds, one of my very pretty nieces wrote back:

“Luckily I haven’t seen any Che hipsters.  They know better than to wear those shirts around me….”

Thank God for a niece like that!

Humberto’s post also reminded me of my uncle’s encounter with Che in 1959.  My uncle passed away in 2008 and was a great source of information and stories about those early days of what was called “la revolucion”.  He was an architect in Cuba and attended The University of Havana in the turbulent 1950’s.  He was there and recalls the lively debates about the future of Cuba in the classrooms of the university.

My uncle said that he felt very pessimistic about Cuba when he met Che in the early days.

His words were like this:

“I knew that we were in deep trouble when I saw Che waving a pistol and bragging about himself.”

Tio Pepe’s words stayed with me and I think of them whenever Che comes into the conversation.

Let me paraphrase Humberto:  Che met justice that day in Bolivia.

Yes he did!

We are grateful to those Bolivian peasants who turned him in.  They saw the same charlatan in Che that my uncle did in the early days of “la revolucion”.

My message is blunt:  Anyone who wears a Che shirt is stupid, ignorant or a swine like Che!

ObamaCare: Another union leader screams “que paso?”

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There are two big lines forming in Washington DC these days:

1) “I need a waiver” line, approximately 1,500 the last time they counted; and

2) “I am a union leader and I don’t like this law anymore”.

The latest union head to scream “what?” is from Chicago:

“Members of the Chicago-based Service Employees International Union Local 1 have gone on strike over recent job cuts by a janitorial company called Professional Maintenance.
The reason for the cuts? The employer says it is because of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. This is ironic since SEIU is a major supporter of the law.
Tyler French, Local 1’s organizing director, told Mediatrackers Ohio the company claimed it had to cut its employees’ hours due to Obamacare mandates.”

According to news reports, union leaders have suddenly realized that ObamaCare means that they will lose their plans. After all, isn’t “health benefits” one of the big reasons to join a union?

I have a couple of questions for Mr French and all of the other union leaders who’ve suddenly discovered that ObamaCare stinks:

1) Where were you in 2009 when this law was rushed through Congress?

2) How can you look at your members and defend your support for President Obama, or the man who gave you this law?

I don’t expect union leaders to answer my questions. However, I am hoping that union members do a little “regime change” and get some leaders who read the laws that they support.

Where did the money come from for the unions to reelect President Obama and his ObamaCare? It came from “the dues” that union members pay every month.

Who was looking out for the union members? It wasn’t the leaders who supported ObamaCare!

P.S. Check CANTO TALK here.

 

 

Cuba and the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debates

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We celebrate another anniversary of the Kennedy-Nixon debates.  The first of the debates was on this day in 1960.  It was the first time that two presidential candidates had debated on TV, the new medium.

Kennedy won the 1960 election by 114,000 votes out of more than 70 million.  It was close, very close!

According to news reports, Nixon won the audio and Kennedy won the video:

“According to the Museum of Broadcast History, radio listeners considered Nixon’s answers to questions to be more substantive and gave Nixon the advantage over Kennedy after the first debate. By contrast, television viewers gave Kennedy the edge, as their impressions were based on how the candidate looked as much as what he said.”

We did not have another debate until 1976, when Governor Carter challenged President Ford.

In the second debate (October 7, 1960), Cuba became a very hot topic:

“The reporters are: Paul Niven of CBS, Edward P. Morgan of ABC, Alvin Spivak of United Press International, and Harold R. Levy of Newsday. Now the first question is from Mr. Niven and is for Vice President Nixon.

MR. NIVEN: Mr. Vice President, Senator Kennedy said last night that the Administration must take responsibility for the loss of Cuba. Would you compare the validity of that statement with the validity of your own statements in previous campaigns that the Truman Administration was responsible for the loss of China to the Communists?

MR. NIXON: Well first of all, I don’t agree with Senator Kennedy that Cuba is lost and certainly China was lost when this Administration came into power in 1953. As I look at Cuba today, I believe that we are following the right course, a course which is difficult but a course which under the circumstance is the only proper one which will see that the Cuban people get a chance to realize their aspirations of progress through freedom and that they get that with our cooperation with the other organi- of the states in the Organization of American States. Now Senator Kennedy has made some very strong criticisms of my part – or alleged part – in what has happened in Cuba. He points to the fact that I visited Cuba while Mr. Batista was in power there. I can only point out that if we are going to judge the Administrations in terms of our attitude toward dictators, we’re glad to have a comparison with the previous administration. There were eleven dictators in South America and in Central America when we came in, in 1953. Today there are only three left including the one in Cuba. We think that’s pretty good progress. Senator Kennedy also indicated with regard to Cuba that he thought that I had made a mistake when I was in Cuba in not calling for free elections in that country. Now I’m very surprised that Senator Kennedy, who is on the Foreign Relations Committee, would have made such a statement as this kind. As a matter of fact in his book, The Strategy for Peace, he took the right position. And that position is that the United States has a treaty – a treaty with all of the Organization of American States – which prohibits us from interfering in the internal affairs of any other state and prohibits them as well. For me to have made such a statement would been in direct uh – opposition to that treaty. Now with regard to Cuba, let me make one thing clear. There isn’t any question but that we will defend our rights there. There isn’t any question but that we will defend Guantanamo if it’s attacked. There also isn’t any question but that the free people of Cuba – the people who want to be free – are going to be supported and that they will attain their freedom. No, Cuba is not lost, and I don’t think this kind of defeatist talk by Senator Kennedy helps the situation one bit.

MR. McGEE: Senator Kennedy, would you care to comment?

MR. KENNEDY: In the first place I’ve never suggested that Cuba was lost except for the present. In my speech last night I indicated that I thought that Cuba one day again would be free. Where I’ve been critical of the Administration’s policy, and where I criticized Mr. Nixon, was because in his press conference in Havana in 1955, he praised the competence and stability of the bicta- bict- Batista dictatorship – that dictatorship had killed over twenty thousand Cubans in seven years. Secondly, I did not criticize him for not calling for free elections. What I criticized was the failure of the Administration to use its great influence to persuade the Cuban government to hold free elections, particularly in 1957 and 1958. Thirdly, Arthur Gardner, a Republican Ambassador, Earl Smith, a Republican Ambassador, in succession – both have indicated in the past six weeks that they reported to Washington that Castro was a Marxist, that Raul Castro was a Communist, and that they got no effective results. Instead our aid continued to Batista, which was ineffective; we never were on the side of freedom; we never used our influence when we could have used it most effectively – and today Cuba is lost for freedom. I hope some day it will rise; but I don’t think it will rise if we continue the same policies toward Cuba that we did in recent years, and in fact towards all of Latin America – when we’ve almost ignored the needs of Latin America; we’ve beamed not a single Voice of America program in Spanish to all of Latin America in the last eight years, except for the three months of the Hungarian uh – revolution.”

My father, like many other Cubans,  followed this debate with incredible interest.   It was clear by the fall of 1960 that Castro was not going to hold elections or follow up all of those promises about “pluralism”:

http://youtu.be/UcjC4Zi6TzU

“Doctor” Castro?  Did he say “Adam and Eve”?

Cubans in the island, and those preparing outside for the liberation of Cuba, must have been very impressed by the comments that they heard in this debate.  It’s obvious that both candidates in 1960 communicated their concern for the communist dictatorship forming in the island.

Sadly, it all fell apart 6 months later at The Bay of Pigs!

P.S. For a little history, click here for the Bay of Pigs’ 50th anniversary show with our dear friend Humberto Fontova.

 

“Obama que malo baila Usted”

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Beny More would agree with me.  He’d be joining me today singing  “Obama que malo baila Usted”.  What a pathetic performance by President Obama at the UN.

President Obama headed to the UN this week desperately hoping to make history.  He was determined to make something happen by shaking the hand of the new Iranian “moderate”, or the new kid in town who recently posted an Op-Ed over at The Washington Post.  He left town without a handshake and his speech was “all mush“, specially the line about the world being more stable than it was 5 years ago.

The humiliation was total and complete.  It  ended when “the Iranian moderate” refused to shake President Obama’s hand.  Here is an account of the week’s events:

“For days before the U.N. conclave, White House aides had broadcast the President’s desire to shake Mr. Rouhani’s hand. By Monday, the press was overflowing with leaked accounts of where and how it would happen. Having thus turned down the lights and turned up the mood music, it made the snub that followed especially potent. What the Administration is trying to spin as a function of complex Iranian politics was, in blunt fact, an expression of lordly contempt for what Iranian leaders consider to be an overeager suitor from an unworthy nation.” (WSJ)

Another bad day for the “si se puede” gang who bought into the idea that Obama would change the world with a speech and a smile.

We learned again that Iran does not like us.  They don’t our like our leaders, whether our president is a Texas Cowboy or “a self proclaimed enlightened liberal” who promised to meet unconditionally with our enemies when he was a candidate.

Again, they don’t like us and have no serious plan to change their nuclear plans.  They are just buying time, as the leader of Israel warned us.

Another waste of time at the UN and don’t forget that we pay 22% of the dues.

We repeat:  They are not going to shake our hand because we want to shake theirs!   My guess is that they are laughing in Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea.

What’s next?  When will Raul Castro proclaim himself  “a moderate”, write an Op-Ed and get the story going about shaking hands with President Obama?

You can hear CANTO TALK here.

Dilma hits Obama with her “cinto brasileiro” at the UN today!

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Back in 2006, the late Hugo Chavez went to the UN and blasted President Bush, i.e. the famous “the devil was here yesterday” speech;

“”The devil came here yesterday,” Chavez said, referring to Bush, who addressed the world body during its annual meeting Tuesday. “And it smells of sulfur still today.”

Chavez accused Bush of having spoken “as if he owned the world” and said a psychiatrist could be called to analyze the statement. “

Well, the only thing smelling “sulfur” these days is Chavez’ hole in hell!   Chavez is the one burning in hell and “tweeting” Maduro about toilet paper shortages in Caracas.

President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil unleashed on President Obama today.  It was rather entertaining to say the least:

“Rousseff had expressed her displeasure last week by calling off a high-profile state visit to the United States scheduled for October over reports that the U.S. National Security Agency had been spying on Brazil.

In unusually strong language, Rousseff launched a blistering attack on U.S. surveillance, calling it an affront to Brazilian sovereignty and “totally unacceptable.”

“Tampering in such a manner in the lives and affairs of other countries is a breach of international law and, as such, it is an affront to the principles that should otherwise govern relations among countries, especially among friendly nations,” Rousseff told the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.

She also proposed an international framework for governing the internet and said Brazil would adopt legislation and technology to protect it from illegal interception of communications.

“Information and telecommunication technologies cannot be the new battlefield between states. Time is ripe to create the conditions to prevent cyberspace from being used as a weapon of war, through espionage, sabotage, and attacks against systems and infrastructure of other countries,” Rousseff said.

U.S. President Barack Obama was en route to the United Nations while Rousseff spoke. Speaking immediately after Rousseff, he avoided direct reference to her criticism.’

In all fairness, Dilma is doing a little “samba” for her Brazilian audience.  There is a lot of discontent down in Brazil about the spending related to the World Cup and Olympics.

Nevertheless, this is another indication that “hope and change” is a faded memory, a reminder of those days of yesteryear when fools chanted “yes we can”at the sight of Obama.

How do you say “it’s over” in Portuguese?  I don’t know for sure but Dilma gave us an example of it at the UN.