Andres Gomez, a pro-Castro Cuban who writes from Miami for Cuban government publications, writes:
"In all countries dominated by reaction, it creates an image apart from the reality that exists in those societies. In Miami’s case, being a city much less complex – being only a city, through the composition and power of the dominant sectors and how these are capable of exercising power – reaction has a greater opportunity to create and manipulate to its whims that image separate from reality. In this case, I am referring to the image of Cuba, created by reactionary Cuban-Americans, a product of their many tenacious lies about the Cuban Revolution. With all the powerful media outlets, in English and Spanish, at their disposal, they disseminate these issues at their whim. The fundamental problem of this false reality of Cuba is when Cuba finds itself -- runs into – the true reality that lies can’t control or change. It’s like when a you drive a stake through the heart of a vampire. This just happened when Cuba was elected to the new UN Commission on Human Rights."
Does Gomez ever say if and why he prefers to live in Miami?
Posted by: PT | May 12, 2006 at 09:50 AM
Article states: the dominant sectors and how these are capable of exercising power
The more i research to post in the Cuban Connection ,the more i am stunned by the cuban exile history. Im shocked that you corrupt cubans have gotten away with so much in our nation. But what is tragic, is that your brand of politics, and you thinking has been spread throughout the world via jorge w. bush. I also cant believe my party has shook hands with you. It is shaking hands with the devil incarnate. However, Im becoming rather circumspect about the defeat that you Cubans delivered to Gore and Kerry. As they made the unwarranted attempt at a dialogue with you, to earn your votes. Because if they would have won, we would still be beholden to the corrupt cuban exile. Finally, the Democrats will not only refuse to reach out to the filthy corrupt Cuban exile. But, dismantle his right wing infrastructure which he/she has used to harm Miami, this nations honor, and the Democratic party.
Cite: www.counterpunch.com
The terrorist minority in the Cuban American community have long had an influence disproportionate to their numbers and this has proven especially true in Election 2000. One major event they helped engineer was the decision of the Miami Dade Canvassing Board to stop the recount -- this was at the heart of the case in front of the Supreme Court and was thus decisive for Bush, who asked the court to enforce that decision.
The Cuban right wing is very close to Jeb Bush, who has maintained ties with major Cuban American criminal figures, including the author of the largest HMO fraud in US history. The building that houses the all-powerful Cuban American National Foundation's headquarters happens to be owned and managed by IntrAmerican Investments, whose president is Jeb Bush. Bush and the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) are allies in the effort to end affirmative action in Florida, the "One Florida" intiative. The CANF has had documented involvement in several narcoterrorist operations, including those of Luis Posada Carilles over the years and the 1997 attempt to kill Fidel Castro where a CANF board member was indicted. After the Elian affair, the Cuban right had it in for the Dems and vowed to seek revenge for what they perceived to be a massive insult to their cause.
There was substantial Miami Cuban right wing involvement in the Miami Dade Canvassing Board decision to stop the recount: the mob which intimidated the Board was urged on by no less than two Cuban American members of Congress over the radio and on-site, in effect giving them the green light. The Gully reports that Congresswoman "Ros-Lehtinen, who is Cuban-American, was protesting against the recount outside the Miami-Dade county building last week while Sweeney was getting ready to utter his fateful phrase inside. Both she and Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart, the other Cuban-born Republican in the U.S. Congress, had called on Cuban-Americans to join the protest, in on-site interviews granted to Radio Mambi, Miami's biggest Spanish-language station." Both members of Congress support and are supported by the all powerful Cuban American National Foundation, the CANF.
The mob consisted of a mix of Cuban American thugs and Republican politicos from out of town, a mix reminiscent of Watergate. Whether they actually intimidated the commission or not is of course disputed but it is irrelevant for as the Gully reports, "two of the three canvassing board members ... county judges Myriam Lehr, an Independent, and Lawrence D. King, a Democrat, were re-elected to the bench thanks to the cut-throat political consultant Armando Gutierrez, last spotted as the 'spokesman' for Elian's Miami relatives." You'll remember Gutierrez as the political consultant who was paid $10,000 by the Family Court judge who ordered Elian into the custody of his Miami relatives. Gutierrez was very busy citing human rights abuses in Cuba as a reason for Elian to stay in Miami, land of the free.
We also have word from Peter Dale Scott that "Elections supervisor David Leahy of the Miami-Dade Canvassing Board, one of the three who voted to stop the recount, works for [Miami Mayor Alex] Penelas." Mayor Penelas also featured prominently in the Elian affair, siding with the hard liners. Scott is the co-author of Cocaine Politics and of an informative memorandum on Jose Basulto, another CANF ally who is at the heart of the current US Cuba phone dispute.
After their victory in shutting down the recount, Republican operatives had a party and Wayne Newton crooned the song 'Danke Schoen,' German for thank you. This victory has proven crucial for Bush, who personally called to thank the Republican operatives at that party but kept the Cuban American participation in low profile.
Note the role of Radio Mambi in mobilizing the Miami mob, the same role it played in the Elian case. The term Mambi is a despicable use of the name of the Mambi, a Congo term that was applied to the Army of Liberation that freed Cuba from the Spanish crown in the 19th century. After the 80% black Mambi army led by General Antonio Maceo defeated the Spaniards, the Spanish Cubans sided with the US and encouraged the US intervention in the Spanish American War in 1898 to steal the fruits of the Mambi victory. After that, they worked with the US to control Cuba and concocted the pretext for destroying the Independents of Color, the first all black political party outside of Haiti in this Hemisphere -- the 1912 massacre in which 6,000 AfroCubans, many of them Mambi veterans, were liquidated, including the entire leadership of los Independientes. This set the tone for years to come. The Miami Machine is the spiritual heir to this sorry history and their use of the word Mambi is the most cynical of ploys.
Persuing Election 2000, the present day version of 1898 and 1912, we note that Cubans in Miami transferred the skills they had in Cuba around elections to elections in Miami, which are replete with the dead voting and numerous instances of electoral fraud. One former mayor of Miami, Xavier "Mayor Loco" Suarez, an ally of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF), was tossed out of office in 1998 after it was proved he tampered with absentee ballots. The "derided ex-mayor of Miami, Xavier Suarez ... now sits on the executive committee of the Miami-Dade Republican party and was specifically involved this year in helping get out the Republican vote... and in filling out absentee ballot forms." Feed Daily goes on to report on "Mayor Loco" Suarez's trajectory in Election 2000.
An article in the London Times on 11/13 had the Gore camp asking the FBI to investigate voter fraud in Miami, largely in the 440,000 strong African American community. This story was completely ignored in the US. Curious, since the London Times is a well known and respected publication. Well, perhaps not so curious. We hear that the New York Times newsroom, the gatekeeper for much of the news in the US, made a conscious decision to downplay racial issues in the election debacle. Perhaps it was said, "We're all Americans here!"
There may have been less than total interest on the part of the CANF and their allies in the outcome since Senator Lieberman is a solid CANF backer -- he owes his first senate victory over the venerable Lowell Weicker to the CANF and their money. Weicker, a Connecticut Republican, had come out against the embargo... For more on this see Lieberman a close ally of Miami's Cuban exiles, 8/11/00 and Lieberman a friend to Cuban-Americans, 8/8/00.
Nevertheless, emotions in little Havana ran very high over Elian, and many of the nearly 1 million Cubans in Miami Dade voted against Gore because of that. Interestingly enough, Gore still probably actually won Miami Dade (if there is ever an accurate count), as there are so many other folks besides right wing Cubans -- moderate Cubans, 200,000 Haitians, 700,000 non-Cuban latinos, 440,000 African Americans, and other voters who don't follow the Miami Machine but have to live under its rule.
We have not even touched upon the CANF and their allies' funding of US elections across the country, sometimes using government subsidies to in effect bribe the government.
Nor have we tracked the moves made by CANF funded politicians to tear down the Dems effort to contest the Bush coup d'etat. Robert Torricelli, Democrat of New Jersey, is heavily funded by the CANF and crafted legislation tightening the blockade against Cuba. He broke ranks with the Dems and called for Gore to give up a week or more before the Supreme Court ruling. Bob Graham, the democratic senator from Florida and another recipient of CANF largess, figured prominently on news shows following Gore's concession speech. Curious also how Ed Rendell, the prosecutor who framed Mumia and later became mayor of Philadelphia and Chairman of the Democratic National Comittee, was the first party official to call for Gore to pack it in after the Supreme Court ruling. He was immediately repudiated by his party.
All in all, the Cuban daily Granma's editorial "Banana Republic" on November 8th proved remarkably accurate -- the comrades know their enemy well. With a core support of 30% of the people (not only voters) according to independent surveys in Cuba, Fidel Castro now boasts stronger internal backing than George Bush, who was "elected" with less than 25% of the vote, given the 50% absentee rate in the national election. The Supreme Court had their chance to decide whether the United States would continue to be dominated by the curious alliance between Cuban American terrorists and US conservatives. Now it's on to the next made in Miami spectacular as the artful heirs of 1912 enjoy an increased measure of influence over the US government.
See also USA's Major Electoral Scandal Occurs in Territory of Right-Wing Exiles, Radio Havana, 12/9/00
Posted by: lou dobbs | May 12, 2006 at 09:55 AM
Bush has set the republican party back 20 years. So goes the republican party, so goes the cuban exiles. Just like every other nation in the world, bush, and ultimately the cuban exile has driven this nation hard left. Thank you, i appreciate it.
www.fighting-dems.com<----------brought to you by good folks like the right wing reactionary cuban exiles and their associates.
Cite: www.wjs.com aka wall street journal
May 11, 2006, 9:12 pm
Bush Dips Into the 20s
President Bush’s job-approval rating has fallen to its lowest mark of his presidency, according to a new Harris Interactive poll. Of 1,003 U.S. adults surveyed in a telephone poll, 29% think Mr. Bush is doing an “excellent or pretty good” job as president, down from 35% in April and significantly lower than 43% in January. Approval ratings for Congress overall also sank, and now stand at 18%.
Roughly one-quarter of U.S. adults say “things in the country are going in the right direction,” while 69% say “things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track.” This has been the trend since January, when 33% said the nation was heading in the right direction. Iraq remains a key concern for the general public, as 28% of Americans said they consider Iraq to be one of the top two most important issues the government should address, up from 23% in April. The immigration debate also prompted 16% of Americans to consider it a top issue, down from 19% last month, but still sharply higher from 4% in March.
The Harris poll comes two days after a downbeat assessement of Bush in a New York Times/CBS News poll. The Times, in analyzing the results, said “Americans have a bleaker view of the country’s direction than at any time in more than two decades.”
Permalink | Trackback URL: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2006/05/11/bushs-approval-ratings/trackback/
Posted by: lou dobbs | May 12, 2006 at 10:11 AM
hey lou:
when are you gonna start asking people for pictures of their feet?
on topic: the castroist reporter said alot of words there, but i'm not sure i understood them all... do all castroist reporters seek to emulate the beard's style of incessant wordiness, punctuated by commie drooling?
why is he in miami? to spread the good word? castro the seventh day adventist? will he be going door-to-door now? and who did this reporter leave behind, blindfolded in a small room as insurance against his succumbing to the capitalists temptation? does he try capitalism, but doesn't inhale? someone explain to me how that works?
Posted by: nonee moose | May 12, 2006 at 11:11 AM
Like usual, another Castro supporter that doesn't live in Cuba. If his supporters think Cuba is such a Utopia, why are they here??? Could it be they have grown accustomed to air-conditioned homes and regular meals? To all Castro sympathizers and supporters: GO BACK!!!!!!! I'M SURE HE MISSES YOU!!!!
Posted by: a thought.... | May 12, 2006 at 11:12 AM
amen to that, thought...
Posted by: nonee moose | May 12, 2006 at 11:31 AM
Clinker, I guess you are a relative of
the Coronel Clink from Hogan's Heroes. He is one of those really wierd birds, the faggo-nazi, not unlike the faggo-commie.
I know that on the surface it seems oxy-moronic, but then defending human rights and egalitarianism by spreading misery and horror equally around the globe seems so ironic. That's why they really go hand-in-hand (no punn on the hand-in-hand with regards to ole Clinker and his own very private and very legitimate in today's gay- in-age, shall we say, personal persuasion).
You should know that, should you get your way politically, that is to bring about that "utopia" that you defend commonly known as communism, historically what has come along with that is the persecution of homosexuals. Does that seem fair to you? Not to me. So, in case your in denial, remember your own fellow commies will come for you first, so GO OUT AND GET YOURSELF A BEARD!!!
HELLFIREBLOGGER
Posted by: TruthINbLOGS | May 12, 2006 at 11:48 AM
“Eso es Cuba y Más Nada”
Things a “Cuban” from Miami Discovered during His First Trip to Cuba or What One Can Buy with $9 if He Spends Wisely
Sundiata Ojeda
We had been sitting in the shadows of El Cristo de la Habana talking about many things on what was supposed to be my last night in Cuba. Located in Casablanca, just across the harbor from Old Havana, the enormous statue of Jesus commissioned by Mrs. Fulgencio Batista in late 1958 becomes an after-hours magnet for lovers wanting privacy that can not be had on the Cuban capital’s more famous Malecon. The passion that filled our evening, however, was not a romantic passion: Lisa and I kept coming back to Cuba. Every turn in our conversation kept coming back to our home, the only home she’d ever known and the home I was just visiting for the first time ever.
I am a Cuban, born and raised in Miami, who was making, at that time, his first visit to Cuba and I wanted to stay. I still do.
“Es muy duro,” she said of life in the last forbidden place for Yanquis to visit. “People don’t know hard it is.”
Lisa described having to scrimp and save for the most basic things that most middle-class people in the United States think absolutely nothing of, things whose existence in one’s kitchen or medicine cabinet or purse is so taken for granted in this country where our consumer driven skills at throwing away finds corporate America paying higher salaries to young scientists and engineers for developing disposable products than for developing recyclable ones.
Lisa, who works in the retail sector and whose clients are virtually all “turistas,” shares a house with her mother and her older sister, who has been a teacher for a decade now. The house they share is literally under construction and much of the family’s discretionary income goes to purchasing building supplies like sacks of cement. She expects to have the house, which they moved into because their old house in Old Havana was falling apart, ready by December.
In order to have it ready by then, her family devotes virtually of its free time to the kind of work that would make Bob Villa (whose own father left Cuba in the 1940’s to flee tyranny) either beam or cringe.
No one in Lisa’s household has any experience in construction but they do have experience in “inventando” – improvising. Lisa told me that people that come to Cuba for a few days or a few weeks or even a few months staying in nice hotels or even quaint casas particulares (the Cuban equivalent to North American bed and breakfasts) with rental cars and pocketfuls of cash that eclipse in quantity what most Cubans can earn in three or four months or five months do not know what it is to have to inventar just to make it from day to day.
According to the Central Intelligence Agency’s website, Cuba’s 2005 per capita income is $3,300 (compared to this country’s which is approaching $50,000). That works out to roughly $9 per day or what the average resident of Golden Valley or Anoka or Woodbury spends on just his or her first appetizer at Bennigan’s or Applebee’s.
A common sight in the few images we are allowed to have of Cuba in this country via either television or print media is of Cubans crowding into odd-shaped buses called camellos or camels because of their two “humps.” An even more common sight throughout all of Cuba for those that actually visit the real Cuba – city streets in El Cerro and Santo Saurez, rural roads in San Cristobal and Alto Songo – is people trying to catch a ride a la botella, or hitch-hiking. Everyone in Cuba, it appears, hitch-hikes – it is not uncommon to see to senior officers (the highest rank I noticed was that of a lieutenant colonel) in the Cuban Army trying to catch a lift.
It is important to note at this point, however, that not everything in Cuba and relating to Cuba is as it appears.
For example, seeing officers of an army that effectively represents, as historian Eduardo Galeano wrote, “a people in arms” standing alongside their neighbors and compatriots waiting for a lift seems to dispel notions held in the United States that Cuba is a militaristic dictatorship. After all, on my most fanciful days, I have had no success trying to picture even a low-ranking goon in Agusto Pinochet’s sadistic army in Chile not having his own car or at least motorcycle with which he could ride around Santiago or Valparaiso during Pinochet’s Kissinger-authorized glory days.
In other words, the important lesson to be learned here is that rhetoric of “all men are created equal” comes closer to fruition in Cuba than anywhere else I have visited in the world.
Another common misconception about Cuba is that most if not all Cubans spend every waking hour trying to escape to the United States. Of all of the people I spoke with in Cuba, only one was actually trying to get the United States. Most Cubans that expressed any opinion on the matter, in fact, communicated what amounted to a non-negotiable desire to stay at home – all while acknowledging the same realities that Lisa spoke of (Lisa, for her part, also expressed a determination not to leave Cuba).
Because of Cuba’s unprecedented commitment to free quality public education up to and including university studies (according to last year’s United Nations Human Development Report, Cuba was the world leader in terms of funds allocated to public education – 18.7% of GDP from 2000-2002 compared to the United States’ 5.7% for the same period), a visitor to the largest island in the West Indies that wants to engage in lively, informed, respectful dialogue about what is going on in the world does not have to look very far. Every Cuban I encountered – from off-duty cab drivers to waitresses, from construction workers to artists, from clerical professionals to the happily retired – was very well-informed about current events.
To whit, there is a spot out in plain view of most of the tourists in Cuba that captures perfectly this special manifestation of a very well-informed and therefore more politically sophisticated people.
In Havana’s Parque Central, located in between landmarks such as the Hotel Inglaterra, the Hotel Parque Central, and El Capitolio, one can easily find La Esquina Caliente, the Hot Corner. There, under the shade of majestic banyan trees and the approving gaze of the statue of national hero José Martí (said statue made “infamous” by photographs of drunken U.S. sailors defecating on it during an all-too-common shore leave of disrespectful debauchery on Cuban soil during the neocolonial phase of Cuban history that many in Miami still think of as “the good ole days”), a large group of Cubans get together every day to talk – and talk very loudly – about everything and anything that comes to mind. The only rule for participation in the discussions at La Esquina Caliente is that you participate in a well-informed and respectful manner (in the parlance of many communities in the Southern U.S. “don’t come in there talking mess out the side of your neck”). This is pure democracy and the wide-open nature of the discussions there would make ancient Athenians envious.
Also interesting is the fact the presence of a uniformed officer nearby did not tempt any of the Cuban Socrates or Platos to censor themselves in the least.
My first visit to La Esquina Caliente was marked by questions posed to me about U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, filmmaker Michael Moore, the USA Patriot Act, just to name but a few of the very many topics covered by myself and the, according to eyewitness accounts, one hundred or so people that wanted to spend time talking with another Cuban, this one from the United States.
This brings me to another hidden reality about Cuba: my long-held fears about being harassed or incarcerated in Cuba because my family fled the island to come to the United States were as fictitious as claims three years ago that Iraq had stockpiled weapons of mass destruction for the specific purpose of destroying the Mall of America. There is no intelligent basis for me as a Cuban born in the United States to be any more afraid of anything in Cuba than a Cuban who has lived his entire life in Cuba. In fact, there is no intelligent basis for any American to be any more afraid of anything in Cuba than a Cuban living in Cuba. While Cubans are certainly aware of their country’s history of being on the receiving end of North American abuses (which, as historical and contemporary accounts easily demonstrate, puts them in company with many nations throughout the developing world), an American is more likely to have someone from Canada heap scorn upon them because of his or her nationality than to have a Cuban do so.
Probably the easiest thing to find in Cuba is its greatest natural resource which is the unconditional humanity which Cubans so easily and generously offer to even the most remote strangers.
There is a saying in Islam that Allah gives to mankind without measure. If emulating the Almighty is salvation, then Cubans recreate Heaven every moment of the day. Instances and examples of Cubans giving a lift, lending a hand, giving a warm hug, planting big kisses on one’s cheek, extending a heartfelt greeting, offering a kind word, breaking bread, gladly giving timely advice or directions, or flashing a bright, bright smile are too numerous to share in this one article. This genuine sense of community, the community of humanity, is so deeply-ingrained in life in Cuba today and is probably the single biggest reason why the many Cubans that told me they want to stay in Cuba choose to do so.
Returning to the question of Cubans that do and do not want to leave Cuba for the United States, many Cubans know that, by virtue of an act of Congress, the U.S. has 25,000 slots for Cuban immigrants open annually. An important first step in this immigration process is to stand in line – for hours at a time – at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. To submit an application, a Cuban must pay a non-refundable application fee of one hundred dollars to officials at the Interests Section – a considerable sum in a country where 27 Cuban pesos equals one U.S. dollar. Most applicants, by the way, are turned down flat by the U.S. government – after having paid the application fee.
When one takes this into account along with the undeniable influence of dreaming dreams based on stories from people in the United States and the images prevalent in North American movies, for example, and the natural human tendency to be convinced that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, is it any wonder that there are Cubans that try to come to this country? After all, most of the Cubans that left Cuba in hopes of landing at least one “dry foot” on U.S. soil interviewed and quoted for news stories in North American press cite motivations rooted in economic foundations to explain why they sought to become one of the teeming masses.
Of course, there are those – mostly in Miami and Washington and who have a lucrative vested interest in convincing us of the following – that insist that Cubans leave Cuba because they hate Fidel Castro the communist. Yet, more Mexicans opt to take the dangerous desert crossings where the climate, the topography, the flora & fauna, bandits, vigilantes, and the vastness of the American “Southwest” make survival anything but a certainty than Cubans that take the ninety mile crossing to the United States or the even shorter one to the Bahamas. Is Vicente Fox a communist? If so, does his patron in Crawford, Texas know about this?
Going past a quaint church in the town square of the picturesque town of Consolacion del Sur, Olivia, a very charming and very Catholic 20-something professional who was going back to school to learn English, proudly let me know that that church is where she was baptized and received her first communion. It was yet another reminder of Article VIII of the current Cuban constitution which guarantees religious freedom. Although I knew nothing of the existence of that particular constitutional provision until just before I left Cuba, I saw it manifest just about everywhere I ventured in Cuba almost from the first moment I arrived.
One of the biggest falsehoods concocted about Cuba in the United States I discovered was that religion and spirituality is grounds for state persecution.
In one twenty-four period, I participated with other Muslims in Friday prayers at a mosque just off the Plaza Mayor (one of the best outdoor book markets I’ve ever visited) in Old Havana and was present for a informal yet powerful cleansing ceremony at the home of, Gerardo, a humble Babalwo, or priest in the Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria, in the South Havana district of Parraga. None of the aforementioned was done in secrecy; in fact, on both occasions, two separate uniformed police officers helped me locate both places mentioned.
This revelation contrasted sharply with news of the “Cubans” in the United States that were exercising their freedom of religion via emails encouraging people to pray that the Cuban baseball team would lose in the World Baseball Classic.
As the spring night air grew cooler, Lisa and I talked about the universal healthcare for Cubans that I had been hearing so much about. She was due to go in the day after the following for a brief outpatient procedure at her local “policlinico” (which, like many clinics I saw, was within easy walking distance of her home). She mentioned that, although she was proud that Cuba was helping other countries with its visiting medical teams, the past three years or so had required a bit of an adjustment. When asked what sort of an adjustment, she said that now, instead of being able to walk in and see a doctor right away, walking in sometimes required waiting up to two or three hours.
I thought of telling her about what “walk-ins” usually encounter in the United States but then I thought differently. Cuba and its achievements in healthcare get a lot of attention internationally and with numbers like the following, it is not hard to wonder why:
Per Capita Spending on Health Care (2002)
ranked #1 - USA ($5,274 per person)
ranked #97 - Cuba ($236 per person)
Percentage of One-year-olds Immunized Against Measles (2003)
ranked #2(tied) - Cuba (99%)
ranked #70 - USA (93%)
(UN Human Development Report 2005)
Thus, according to the United Nations, Cuba is able to immunize more of its children than the United States which spends twenty-three times as much on health care as Cuba. Of course, anyone who has driven past any of the immense, shiny edifices that house just local offices of the HMO’s and PPO’s that, on average, are responsible for, according to the sponsors of House bill HR676, the average American family presently spending over $9,000 annually on healthcare premiums was probably already wondering where the money is really going anyway. As we sat in the silence of the night, watching tugboats guide ships into their berths in the harbor beneath us, I thought of how much can be done with so little. After all, in a lifetime, Cuba has eradicated illiteracy (which was as high as forty percent during the “glamorous times” that are celebrated annually at Miami’s Cuba Nostalgia Convention) and has not only addressed medical care disparities within its own borders but also helped to augment medical resources in countries like Pakistan, Venezuela, Haiti, Malaysia, (68 countries in all as well as “1,800 doctors from 47 developing countries graduated [from medical school] in Cuba” in 2005 according to the BBC) all while being subjected to an economic blockade denounced as both inhumane and illegal in various circles. I also thought of Cuba’s current per capita income, that $3,300 annually or nine bucks daily mentioned earlier. I then remembered a conference last September held in a conference room in the Humphrey Building at the University of Minnesota that talked about the billions of people on Earth having to “live” on less than two dollars a day. According to the World Bank, 2.7 billion people are forced to try to survive on this two dollar per diem “budget.” With the current world population at just under six billion, that means that one out of every two human beings must be able to pay for food, housing, clothing on less than what the average Minnesotan has in the change container of his Ford Explorer. I then thought about “Cubans” back home in Miami that say they want to take over Cuba again so that Cuba can catch up with the rest of the world. Looking at how Cuba’s nine bucks stacks up against “the rest of the world,” I really hope that they stay in Miami.
Posted by: URL HOT LINK | May 12, 2006 at 11:53 AM
a thought wrote: Could it be they have grown accustomed to air-conditioned homes and regular meals?
Sounds like the right wing cuban exile groups too!!
Posted by: lou dobbs | May 12, 2006 at 11:54 AM
url hot link
Please dont post big articles like this in the future. Thank you, for your cooperation.
Posted by: lou dobbs | May 12, 2006 at 11:56 AM
LD
los siento
Posted by: click HERE | May 12, 2006 at 12:17 PM
Guys, in case you didn't notice, John is Clinker is Lou Dobbs is A SOCK-PUPPET MACHINE!
This guy talks to himself so much that he should probably be in a dimly-lit padded cell with the climate control system set to a crispy 62*F for the rest of his days, so that he doesn't harm himself.
Clinker, LouDobbs, or should I call you JOHN? You are truly UNBELIEVABLE!
Posted by: HELLFIREBLOGGER | May 12, 2006 at 12:23 PM
hey Oscar, is fidel sending you a check? I mean, why else would you waste your blog space by linking to such an obvious arm of fidel castro's propaganda machine?
Might as well give him your username and password and let him post away here.
Posted by: Val Prieto | May 12, 2006 at 12:25 PM
Oscar, is Lou Dobbs, a/k/a John, a/k/a Imposter John working for you? Why after his long-winded, uncannily fidelist rants does he take the time to police your blog for you, by asking URL HOTLINK not to publish such long articles in the future? Lou even thanks URL HOTLINK in anticipation for their cooperation with not publishing such long-winded articles - not only is that the pot calling the kettle black, but it the height of hypocracy.
Give a liberal some literary rope and he'll hang himself by the jewels everytime!
We're on to you!
HELLFIREBLOGGER
Posted by: HELLFIREBLOGGER | May 12, 2006 at 12:32 PM
This is funny: the discussion turns to ghost-writing and internet censorship and guess who turns up? VAL!
LOL!!!!
Say, what's that sound? It's a hit dog hollering!
LOL!!!!
Hey Val - don't get on Oscar about cutting and pasting from other sites because he does it from YOURS all of the time. Or maybe that is the problem -- Valetin is jealous.
*snicker*
Posted by: Graciela | May 12, 2006 at 12:37 PM
Val,
Ten bucks??
I thought free speech was supposed to be ... FREE?!
I suppose that now Val wants to have people pay copayments everytime they vote or privatize the Dade County Public Schools (thank God for Val that, if it happens, it is twenty-five years after he failed the enterance exam to get into Columbus for the third time).
Val, this is not Oscar's personal blog - this is on Miami Herald bandwidth you lonely embodiment of Calle Ocho hypocrisy. Leave Oscar alone already and go back to begging folks to support the Nostalgia Convention by posting more pictures of people wearing the $10 guayaberas you're trying to sell for "a great price."
Posted by: Cap'n Hook | May 12, 2006 at 12:44 PM
stop trying to claim Oscar for one side or another, this is not a blog... this a place where you find a target to shoot at, whatever your persuasion. there is minimal policing in case anyone has noticed, hell even the chicano lou dobbs/john gets to post, and if ever there was anyone whe needed some deleting it is he/she/it.
Val, no offense, I like your comments for the most part, and I enjoy your own site as well. But don't cross the line that someone else crossed the other day in demanding that Oscar "choose" which side to "promote". That's not part of the game.
It's not a right to free speech issue for Oscar in maintaining this little corner, it is in some way the only reconcialiation with journalistic values of objectivity that is available in a forum such as this. Appreciate it on thos terms and enjoy the debate... and all the smack flying around, too. I know I do.
Posted by: nonee moose | May 12, 2006 at 01:41 PM
Hellfire wrote: Guys, in case you didn't notice, John is Clinker is Lou Dobbs is A SOCK-PUPPET MACHINE!
This guy talks to himself so much that he should probably be in a dimly-lit padded cell with the climate control system set to a crispy 62*F for the rest of his days, so that he doesn't harm himself.
Clinker, LouDobbs, or should I call you JOHN? You are truly UNBELIEVABLE!
Hey dumbass, i told everyone two days ago that i was switching names. Read my post more carefully.
Posted by: lou dobbs | May 12, 2006 at 01:44 PM
Lol Val, now they think im you. ROFL!! Cubans are so damn stupid!!
Posted by: lou dobbs | May 12, 2006 at 01:45 PM
Posted by: Cap'n Hook | May 12, 2006 at 12:44 PM
noone moose wrote
Val, this is not Oscar's personal blog - this is on Miami Herald bandwidth you lonely embodiment of Calle Ocho hypocrisy. Leave Oscar alone already and go back to begging folks to support the Nostalgia Convention by posting more pictures of people wearing the $10 guayaberas you're trying to sell for "a great price."
stop trying to claim Oscar for one side or another, this is not a blog... this a place where you find a target to shoot at, whatever your persuasion. there is minimal policing in case anyone has noticed, hell even the chicano lou dobbs/john gets to post, and if ever there was anyone whe needed some deleting it is he/she/it.
Val, no offense, I like your comments for the most part, and I enjoy your own site as well. But don't cross the line that someone else crossed the other day in demanding that Oscar "choose" which side to "promote". That's not part of the game.
It's not a right to free speech issue for Oscar in maintaining this little corner, it is in some way the only reconcialiation with journalistic values of objectivity that is available in a forum such as this. Appreciate it on thos terms and enjoy the debate... and all the smack flying around, too. I know I do.
Sweet Jesus, i got a cuban civil war started. Hide the children, close the barn yard doors. Cubans are fighting with each other. OH my god, oh my god. Where are the Cuban Hialeah whores in all this, like amp, a thought, maria, and aiylnmarie. Everyone take cover. Finally, there is a real life Cuban civil war going on.
Posted by: lou dobbs | May 12, 2006 at 01:52 PM
chicano john:
lou dobbs called, and he's threatening to sue... it seems he's offended by the unauthorized association with the crypto-homo bomb-thrower with a foot fetish...
don't delude yourself into thinking you've started anything but a culture of amusement with your patent and yes very vocal proof of your total irrelevance--- much less a "Cuban civil war". No one here is throwing f-bombs at anyone except at you sometimes.
other than your corrosive presence here, any disagreements that i've witnessed here are relatively respectful, and intellectually honest for the most part.
chicano john, te das demasiada importancia...
nuff said.
Posted by: nonee moose | May 12, 2006 at 02:50 PM
Lou, you know you love all this....Cuban action gets you all crazy....
Posted by: a thought... | May 12, 2006 at 02:55 PM
Funny stuff, guys (and gals), Friday entertainment at it's finest!
"John", "Lou Dobbs", etc. please keep up the hard work. Remember...
"Ctrl + C" (copy), "Ctrl + V" (paste)
hahaha!
C
Posted by: Clotilde | May 12, 2006 at 03:43 PM
hey, a thought,
If you email me some pics of your feet, i want be so hard on you in this blog.
Posted by: lou dobbs | May 12, 2006 at 05:11 PM
better send the pix, a thought... or chicano loujohn will be hard on you on this blog... LOL
chicano loujohn, is that what you "real" chicanos call extortion?
Posted by: nonee moose | May 12, 2006 at 05:58 PM
a thought has a crush on me, i want some honesty from her and to admit it. If she shows some honesty, than i will show her my softer, gentler side. Dont you realize i have feelings too. Do you think im a jackass 24 hours a day? Dont you realize that i had a pet hamster that i cared for when i was 10 years old. Dont you realize these thing, a thought?
Posted by: lou dobbs | May 12, 2006 at 06:43 PM
Yes, john/lou, i do think you are interesting. I just wish you would be less abrasive to the Cuban women here like myself. I do think some of your posts, and observations are interesting and very thought provoking. I think you are rough around the edges. But, a lot of men are. I will not email you pictures of my feet however. But, if you would like to trade email of photos of one another i would be interested in that. So email me first, and then i will email you later.
Posted by: a thought... | May 12, 2006 at 06:52 PM
Attention normal people.
I beg you all not respond any comments made on this blog. Please leave this blog to Oscar Corral and Lou Dobbs (john, retardo, or whatever else he calls himself).
I'm sorry Oscar but this guy is so inarticulate and long winded that he's ruining your blog.
Posted by: conductor | May 12, 2006 at 11:17 PM
i think we dont have to worry about chicano loujohn anymore...
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14569015.htm
Posted by: nonee moose | May 13, 2006 at 08:21 AM
Hmmm, I wonder how I posted last night at 6:52pm when I was nowhere near a computer....John, I didn't think your foot fetish was so severe; breaking into homes and touching women's feet while they're sleeping is pretty out there. Besides, all this time you were claiming to be such a hot, blonde gringo and it turns out you're Honduran. AND AN ILLEGAL ONE, at that. I guess I know where you were on "A Day without Immigrants" Monday. I have been deceived. You were not after toes; you were after la residencia. Nonee, I guess he'll be "hard" on me in this post as I will not send him pics of my toes. We are sooooo off the subject again!!!
Posted by: a thought.... | May 13, 2006 at 08:49 AM
the neighborhood watch strikes again!
Posted by: nonee moose | May 13, 2006 at 10:40 AM
Conductor wrote: I beg you all not respond any comments made on this blog.
Who and the hell are you to demand that people not post here, and that they are ruining this website. For your information, i have learned quite a bit in between my rants from several Cubans. I suspect this is probably one of the few forums on the internet where an American can visit, and safely speak, and learn about the world of Cuban people in and outside of the island. So it may be ruining the site to you fat boy, but for me and others like me it may be the only place i can learn from a Cuban. But, of course you dont care what Americans do you. All, you want to do is sit back and slam on democrats, pat bush on his butt. Why are you and Val getting so upset about this site anyway? It seems like you two sonofbitches are getting more upset as each day goes by. Apparently, Val and Conductor have too much time on their hands.Do you want me to visit them? Or better yet, do you want me to have a few of my friends visit and make comments on your blogs. I mean it would be very easy for me to round up ten of thousands of my closet internet democrat friends, link to your cite, and have them start posting about what "they" think about right wing Miami Cubans. Do you two really want that? You want some increased traffic, from angry Democrats? I didnt think so! After all, you think there are no other Democrats that think like me, right? So quit beating up on Oscar, telling others what they can or cannot say, and whining about how your sites are better than his. Before, i came to this site, i always thought that Cuban-Americans were pieces of poo-poo. Now i have established relationships here, like "a thought" who i consider my on-line girlfriend. Maybe that is what you really are trying to prevent, you sonofbitch. I know that you hate to see one of your Cuban girls stray off the front yard. Well, back off buddy. Back waaaaay off. Now you waltz in here and command that she no longer communicates with me. Well, who appointed you the God of the Cuban internet. Your delete key doesn't work here fat boy. You and Val, tried to push me around last month, and that didnt work. Then you try to push Oscar around, because he believes in the 1st amend, so that didnt work. Now you are trying to boss around the others who post here, like my online girlfriend "a thought." Oh you didnt know she was my girlfriend did you? Well, close your mouth, and wipe the astonishment off your face. Now you sonofbitches have cross the line with me. I have been very courteous to Cubans here the last month. But, you lil bastards cross my line this time, when you start messing with my women!!! Bossing my women around, telling them they cant post anymore, you sonofbitch. Telling them to keep their mouth SHUT. Well Sweet Jesus, now im spitting nails this morning. You sonofbitch! I haven't even had my coffee yet. I just woke up to this shit. Are you kidding me man!! Are you fucking kidding me man? You tried to sneak this post by me while i was sleeping. Did you know i got my fathers aol account banned for a year when i was in high school, because of my mouth in their chatrooms? Do you know how much it takes for those aol sonofbitches to ban someone? Sweet Jesus MAN!! Dont you EVER EVER strut through here, and tell my girlfriend to keep her mouth shut ON ANY SUBJECT. If my woman wants to come in and talk about cuban issues then she can, if she wants to come in here to talk about her SWEET CUBAN FEET than she can. BUT YOU DONT TELL HER WHAT TO SAY, WHAT TO DO, WHERE TO GO, YOU SONOFBITCH!! I WATCHED SCARFARCE!! I SAW HOW YOU SMACK THEM AROUND !! WELL WE DONT DO THAT SHIT!! YOU MIGHT RUN HIALEAH, BUT YOU DONT RUN THE INTERNET!! YOU AND VAL ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO SAY AND HOW TO SAY IT!. BOTH OF YOU HAVE YOU OWN WEBSITES, SO STOP TRYING TO CENSOR THIS ONE!!! OH AND VAL, THE ONLY COMMIE RUNNING AROUND CHATROOMS IS YOU!! YOU ARE A BIGGER SONOFBITCH THAN CONDUCTOR!! AT LEAST CONDUCTOR DOESNT RUN AROUND WHINING ABOUT BEING BORN A CUBAN! THE SAME CANT BE SAID ABOUT YOU!
NUFF SAID,
P.S.
A THOUGHT, I DEFENDED YOUR HONOR THIS MORNING SUGAH!! I DEFENDED IT, I DEFENDED IT
Posted by: a thought... | May 13, 2006 at 12:03 PM
A thought, stop linking to my name
Conductor wrote: I beg you all not respond any comments made on this blog.
Who and the hell are you to demand that people not post here, and that they are ruining this website. For your information, i have learned quite a bit in between my rants from several Cubans. I suspect this is probably one of the few forums on the internet where an American can visit, and safely speak, and learn about the world of Cuban people in and outside of the island. So it may be ruining the site to you fat boy, but for me and others like me it may be the only place i can learn from a Cuban. But, of course you dont care what Americans do you. All, you want to do is sit back and slam on democrats, pat bush on his butt. Why are you and Val getting so upset about this site anyway? It seems like you two sonofbitches are getting more upset as each day goes by. Apparently, Val and Conductor have too much time on their hands.Do you want me to visit them? Or better yet, do you want me to have a few of my friends visit and make comments on your blogs. I mean it would be very easy for me to round up ten of thousands of my closet internet democrat friends, link to your cite, and have them start posting about what "they" think about right wing Miami Cubans. Do you two really want that? You want some increased traffic, from angry Democrats? I didnt think so! After all, you think there are no other Democrats that think like me, right? So quit beating up on Oscar, telling others what they can or cannot say, and whining about how your sites are better than his. Before, i came to this site, i always thought that Cuban-Americans were pieces of poo-poo. Now i have established relationships here, like "a thought" who i consider my on-line girlfriend. Maybe that is what you really are trying to prevent, you sonofbitch. I know that you hate to see one of your Cuban girls stray off the front yard. Well, back off buddy. Back waaaaay off. Now you waltz in here and command that she no longer communicates with me. Well, who appointed you the God of the Cuban internet. Your delete key doesn't work here fat boy. You and Val, tried to push me around last month, and that didnt work. Then you try to push Oscar around, because he believes in the 1st amend, so that didnt work. Now you are trying to boss around the others who post here, like my online girlfriend "a thought." Oh you didnt know she was my girlfriend did you? Well, close your mouth, and wipe the astonishment off your face. Now you sonofbitches have cross the line with me. I have been very courteous to Cubans here the last month. But, you lil bastards cross my line this time, when you start messing with my women!!! Bossing my women around, telling them they cant post anymore, you sonofbitch. Telling them to keep their mouth SHUT. Well Sweet Jesus, now im spitting nails this morning. You sonofbitch! I haven't even had my coffee yet. I just woke up to this shit. Are you kidding me man!! Are you fucking kidding me man? You tried to sneak this post by me while i was sleeping. Did you know i got my fathers aol account banned for a year when i was in high school, because of my mouth in their chatrooms? Do you know how much it takes for those aol sonofbitches to ban someone? Sweet Jesus MAN!! Dont you EVER EVER strut through here, and tell my girlfriend to keep her mouth shut ON ANY SUBJECT. If my woman wants to come in and talk about cuban issues then she can, if she wants to come in here to talk about her SWEET CUBAN FEET than she can. BUT YOU DONT TELL HER WHAT TO SAY, WHAT TO DO, WHERE TO GO, YOU SONOFBITCH!! I WATCHED SCARFARCE!! I SAW HOW YOU SMACK THEM AROUND !! WELL WE DONT DO THAT SHIT!! YOU MIGHT RUN HIALEAH, BUT YOU DONT RUN THE INTERNET!! YOU AND VAL ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO SAY AND HOW TO SAY IT!. BOTH OF YOU HAVE YOU OWN WEBSITES, SO STOP TRYING TO CENSOR THIS ONE!!! OH AND VAL, THE ONLY COMMIE RUNNING AROUND CHATROOMS IS YOU!! YOU ARE A BIGGER SONOFBITCH THAN CONDUCTOR!! AT LEAST CONDUCTOR DOESNT RUN AROUND WHINING ABOUT BEING BORN A CUBAN! THE SAME CANT BE SAID ABOUT YOU!
NUFF SAID,
P.S.
A THOUGHT, I DEFENDED YOUR HONOR THIS MORNING SUGAH!! I DEFENDED IT, I DEFENDED IT
Posted by: lou dobbs | May 13, 2006 at 12:06 PM
John, when did the cops let you go? Are you out on bail?
Posted by: a thought.... | May 13, 2006 at 12:26 PM
No my probation ended two weeks ago!! What did you do last night?
Posted by: lou dobbs | May 13, 2006 at 01:31 PM
I was contemplating my Cuban-American toes...new topic, please: Is anyone out there going to Cuba Nostalgia? John, don't start ranting....
Posted by: a thought.... | May 13, 2006 at 04:00 PM
Sugah, i never rant about you. You should know that by now. I only protect you from the Vals,Conductors, Luis, and the other Cubans who try to tell you to shut your mouth. I will not let them do that to you. I am very gallant when it comes to women.
Posted by: fat boy john aka lou dobbs | May 13, 2006 at 04:18 PM
thought, i'm tellin ya, chicano loujohn just wants to borrow your shoes... don't fall for that toe fetish BS...
Posted by: nonee moose | May 13, 2006 at 05:50 PM
nonee,
And, im telli ya, stay out of my personal business.
Posted by: fat boy john aka lou dobbs | May 13, 2006 at 06:28 PM
chicano loujohn,
you put your personal business out on the blog for all to see, hon... so if now you got privacy issues, then i suggest you go back to your bathroom with your don't ask don't tell magazines of the military left you get so sweaty over, where no one will bother you except your guilty conscience.
in the meantime when you address me, don't throw me the enano threats, chica. reach down in that shallow sack of yours and give me something creative and witty. you're boring me over here...
nuff said.
Posted by: nonee moose | May 13, 2006 at 06:52 PM
chicano loujohn:
ten bucks sez i know what happened to that pet hamster... twenty bucks sez you won't admit it...LOL
Posted by: nonee moose | May 13, 2006 at 06:54 PM
John, none of my fellow Cuban Americans have told me to shut my mouth. Cuban men can be very gallant and very good with the piropos, as well. I think you are very misunderstood...anyway, nonee, I don't John can fit into my shoes; I'm short so I have small feet. John, impress me...go to Cuba Nostalgia next weekend wearing a guayabera. I can hardly wait...
Posted by: a thought.... | May 13, 2006 at 06:58 PM
Really, honey, i dont know what a guayabera is, but i will google it. And, go get it. I will go to the Club Nostalgia. Even though i will be uncomfortable around a large group of Cubans. But, for you i will make an excetion. However, i wont go, unless this event is in South Beach. As i have never stepped foot outside of SouthBeach, other than go to Ft.Lauderdale. I wont describe myself, as i know when you see me, you will say that has to be big john. And all of your friends will be impressed by your choice of men. Then we can dance "no salsa though" and then i can show you around Southbeach, in my newly painted trans-am. Trust me Little Havana, and Southbeach are two different worlds. And, then afterwards, i will treat you to McDonalds, any value meal on me, skies the limit, the #3, #5 doesnt matter baby. I treat all my sugahs well. Hell, you can even supersize it, i've got deep pockets. Damn honey, i cant wait until next weekend. Now this is what i call the Cuban Connection.
P.S.
Yes, the Cuban men were telling you to shut up. And nobody talks to my sugahs like that.
Posted by: fat boy john aka lou dobbs | May 13, 2006 at 07:31 PM
Great! I'll be the one walking around with her husband...I never mentioned that, did I? Sorry, John, Trix are for kids....
Posted by: a thought.... | May 13, 2006 at 07:47 PM
chicano loujohn:
that was hilarious! why don't you just change you name to long john and complete the delusion?
stop joking around about your sugahs, they're gonna drum you out the brokeback sobe club... not that there's anything wrong with that..
Posted by: nonee moose | May 13, 2006 at 07:51 PM
OHHHH!
brokeback loujohn = possible, POSSIBLE, blue balls... LOL
Posted by: nonee moose | May 13, 2006 at 07:55 PM
Sundiata (nice freakin' name):
After all, in a lifetime, Cuba has eradicated illiteracy (which was as high as forty percent during the “glamorous times” that are celebrated annually at Miami’s Cuba Nostalgia Convention)
Build a bridge and get over it, you freak.
I will be at Cuba Nostalgia and proud of it. This guy sounds like your typical, pissed off "had not" in Cuba who decides that all Cuba's ills rest with the higher echelon of society back then. Get over it. They all came here and had to start over and I'm sure envious people like you were crowing that doctors and lawyers were scrubbing floors. But you know what? They never lost their dignity or their class. They just worked harder for their families. So Sundiata and his ilk can sit here and judge. Oye, Sunny, stay in La Habana if you love it there so much. Leave America to those of us that appreciate it.
Well, kiddies, signing off for the night. Going to see "The Lost City" so Sundiata can write about how delusional Andy Garcia is. Nonee, I leave John to your TLC. Enjoy!!!! He's a nice guy, just watch your toes....
Posted by: a thought.... | May 13, 2006 at 08:22 PM
thanks for the thought, 'thought... the chicano john and i have already had that conversation, and he came to the conclusion that i'm not his type (!) notice he wont ask me about my toes... :-)
i agree that he's probably not a bad guy... but he does have triggers (slowwwwly i turned...) if everybody started laughing at him more, soon you'd realize that youre laughing at yourself a bit too... and that, to me at least, is a good thing.
this is a place with a lot of bullshit AND a lot of truth... learn it all, i say. perspective is the hardest thing in the world to possess. it is elusive, rare. it is worth its weight in gold. we should hold on to every ounce of it we have, and always be on the lookout for more.
i better get off the soapbox before i sprain an ankle...
Posted by: nonee moose | May 13, 2006 at 09:16 PM
I love the way sperm tastes
Posted by: john | May 14, 2006 at 12:53 AM
a thought imposter wrote: Great! I'll be the one walking around with her husband...I never mentioned that, did I? Sorry, John, Trix are for kids....
I know that wasnt you sugah. I know it was that nonee moose who always ghost post. So dont you worry, no matter who posts under your screen name, i will always know your affection for me will remain true. All of the Cuban bloggers resent the fact that one of their Cuban divas has fallen head over heels with me, and will stop at nothing to prevent me from enjoying anything that the Cuban woman has to offer me.
Always,
john
P.S.
Notice how that the imposter above got my screen name wrong. Of course it was nonee.
Posted by: fat boy john aka lou dobbs | May 14, 2006 at 08:54 AM