To friends in Cuba...

To all my friends in Cuba and to the entire Cuban blogosphere, please take care and have a really really safe holiday!

Cuban Health System

"It was just mentioned to me by our esteemed speaker, 'Did anyone say
anything about the Cuban health system?' And lemme tell ya, before you
say “Oh, it’s a commu–”, you need to go down there and see what Fidel
Castro put in place. And I want you to know, now, you can think whatever
you want to about Fidel Castro, but he was one of the brightest leaders
I have ever met. [APPLAUSE] And you know, the Cuban revolution that
kicked out the wealthy, Che Guevara did that, and then, after they took
over, they went out among the population to find someone who could lead
this new nation, and they found…well, just leave it there (laughs), an
attorney by the name of Fidel Castro…"

Oh man... I came across this video and transcript (thanks Charlie) of a congresswoman from L.A. praising the Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro stating that he is one of the brightest leaders she's ever met and that the health system in Cuba is one that America should aspire to.

No offense lady, but have you been to a Cuban hospital? I don't mean the nice one for tourists that Michael Moore went to, I meant the "REAL" hospitals that regular every day people go to? Didn't your mother teach you not to be a Communist? Didn't you grow up in the land of opportunity? I bet you never tried to get on a raft made of tires and driftwood to sneak INTO CUBA!

Anyways... Enough said, read the transcript or watch the video and I dare ANY of you to come up with something positive to say about Watson's stance about Castro.

12 Inch Communists

Just when you thought this crazy world couldn't get any crazier... I was browsing through stuff on Ebay as I often do when I'm bored it's 1am and I came across the toy pictured above.

So bust out your CUCs or in the case your US Dollars and place a big on this amazing 12 inch replica of the "Bearded One", your pal and mine Fidel Castro. I don't know what's next Pinochet and Pol Pot dolls? Well I looked around and didn't find any, but surprise I did find a Che action figure complete with murderous stare.



A little more digging and I found a Stalin toy soldier.



It makes me wonder, because if people actually manufacture these, it must mean there's a market out there for toys that depict murderous communist bastards out there. What kind of people actually buy these things? I mean when I was a kid we had Darth Vader and Cobra Commander and Megatron and My Little Pony, but these guys were all made up and aren't actually responsible for the death of thousands of innocent people.

One thing's for sure: my future kids will never EVER be playing with a Che or a Fidel doll unless they plan on burying it deep in the ground where no one will ever ever find it again. That's just my opinion...

Bargain Basement Hero?

Walking through Zellers a few days ago I found in a discount art bin a reprint of the famous Che painting that you can see above... I took a picture with my blackberry but the price still came out blurry... The price (if you can see it) reads $14.97 (that's 12.87 USD, 9.22 EUR, 11.88 CUC). And I had to ask myself, if they're liquidating Che art is the Revolution in better shape then its poster-boy?

So I went to the internet and searched for answers and according to an article in Reuters Fidel Castro himself foresaw this whole economic downturn 26 years ago when he said: "The current state of the world economy and its gloomy outlook should lead to a profound reflection in governments and in the most lucid minds of the developed world."

But according to an article in Itar-Tass: “Since the signing of the agreement (on granting a state credit against Russian goods and services) the Cuban side has three times violated the payment terms. However, the credit provision has not been suspended and no fines were imposed as for June 1, 2009.”

So did the "Fearless" leader actually see this coming 26 years ago and fail to plan? Or is Cuba just not paying its debt because it's slowly gearing up for yet another Special Period?

With Che paintings selling at discount prices and the decline of sales Che t-shirts one wonders if people are undergoing (in Castro's words) a "profound reflection" on if they feel like advertising a murderer and spending their hard earned fast disappearing money supporting a government that spits on human rights while criticizing everyone else for doing just that?

So to answer my original question:is the Revolution in better shape then its poster-boy? The answer is that I think the Revolution is in the same sad state as its bargain basement hero: old, tired, cheap, over publicized, underachieving and dead.

Muchacho Enfermo

Is Cuba Bankrupt?

Is Cuba on the verge of bankruptcy? Reuters reported on Yahoo Argentina that Cuba head was on the verge of financial collapse and had to stop honoring large wire transfers from foreign companies as their cash reserves are almost depleted. The Castro Cartel blames the hurricanes that hit the island last year, but in reality Cuba had been negotiating with its lenders prior to both hurricanes in order to lower their interest payments so they could meet their financial obligations to the foreign nations that had lent them money.

The real reality is that the economic crisis in Cuba started long before these two hurricanes and long before Reuters wrote about it. The truth is that the economic crisis in Cuba started the day that Castro marched into Havana and assumed power and deepened the day the Soviet Union imploded. The island nation has never really recovered from the Special Period, or from 1959 for that matter.

As a tourist in a hotel last October it was hard to tell that there had been two major hurricanes that had hit Cuba but the second I left the hotel and got on the bus the effects of the storms were instantly visible. The little stands and restaurants in the cities had doubled the price of food and halved the portions; short crops were being grown in a fruit producing province; the houses that were already battered and nothing more than shacks looked like inhabited rubble.

Cuba truly is on the verge of financial collapse and is trying to avoid bankruptcy...

If I was Raul today I’d be worried:
History has shown us famine leads to dissent and rebellion.
The people are hungry, literally hungry for something to eat...

But what their stomachs and their souls are rumbling for is something much bigger than a meal, they are starving for Change.

Muchacho Enfermo

Open Letter to President Obama from Cuban Dissident

Jorge Luis Garcma Pirez (Antunez), one of Cuba's dissident who had been released from prison in 2008 after serving 17 years for speaking out against the Castro regime, has written a letter to President Obama shortly after or before being hospitalized following a 24 day hunger strike he had started from his prison cell to demand better treatment of prisoners. The letter is copied verbatim from Sunrise in Havana:

"Open Letter to the President of the United States

Mr President, I write to you from Cuba, this small Caribbean island, Jorge Luis García Pérez "Antúnez", one of the thousands of former political prisoners in Cuban prisons who suffered torture and all forms of repression by the prison guards in their inordinate desire to destroy and break our will to struggle and resist.

I am one of many Cubans who inspired by the struggle of Martin Luther Kin, is on the streets calling for the Cuban civic resistance and civil disobedience as a strategy to achieve the much-awaited and necessary change to democracy in my country where there is a tyranny now in power for half a century, contravening the fundamental freedoms of its citizens, imprisoning alternative voices, and pushing people to extreme poverty, both economic and moral.

Mr President, I must stress that I the author of this letter, was arrested by combined forces of the political police on the eve of your ascension as president, with the deliberate purpose of preventing me from attending an embassy, which had invited me, along with the peaceful opposition also LORETO HERNÁNDEZ GARCÍA too witnessed this important historical event, your inauguration as the democratically elected president.

It is ironic and embarrassing for many a paradox that while in the grand and hospitable country, a black man took the highest judiciary, just 90 miles away, two black youths were also arrested, confined in filthy cells, by organs of political repression for almost 72 hours.

Imagine how many letters you received and will continue to receive, Cubans inside and outside the island. In my humble letter I would like, on behalf of hundreds and hundreds of my brothers imprisoned for their ideas, the beaten, harassed and punished for fighting in a peaceful and open manner, suggesting that the government in Havana is continuing and will remain faithful to its traditional vocation anti-democratic and dictatorial. This is evidenced by the arrests and the escalation of repression against their people who maintain peaceful opposition.

Mr President, the dictatorship in Havana was reluctant to give the smallest opening that it brings into play and the only thing you must know is: the regime will perpetuate itself in power at the expense of pain, suffering and sacrifice of an entire people.

History has shown, so do not forget that any relaxation of policy towards the Castro regime is equivalent to the oxygenation of his government and law enforcement apparatus.

On the other hand, I'm among those who believe that the initiatives for dialogue and understanding are positive and indicate strong qualities of those who promote them. But it has been shown that a dialogue with the deaf and intransigent counterproductive, and even more risky when done without real and concrete conditions for the repressors.

In that sense I believe that the basic and essential condition to require the dictatorship of the Castro, is the urgent and immediate release of all political prisoners in Cuba, as well as the sincere assurances of implementing an immediate and effective program for deep and radical reform political, economic and social changes that are aimed at establishing a democratic society with a genuine rule of law, and assure you with great respect and responsibility that it would prolong this long and difficult ordeal than 5 decades the Cuban people suffer.

I can not ignore, which in the opinion of all my compatriots are and must always be our main demand and ask: the freedom of each and every political prisoners in Cuba. Know that hundreds and hundreds of my brothers are dying in filthy and solitary cells, starvation, disease and abuse, men and women whose only crime was to defend the fundamental rights and freedoms of man, advocate and fight for a free society.

We hope you and your government solidarity to them and their families. We hope that your administration not overlook a detail, and really as obvious as a fundamental and pernicious that the main restrictions that our people suffer are those that we just applied a system that refuses the liberation of markets, free enterprise, and with the poverty that creates a constant outflow causes, above all things and blame others for the damage they are causing their own people.

Cubans as lovers of freedom, we do not oppose all such noble initiatives aimed at bringing fence and reunification of Cuban families separated, much less that can be helped in such difficult times.

I do not believe that decent and patriotic, is that many continue to use the so-called flight of the community to swell the coffers of the repressive apparatus to gain the privileges enjoyed by foreign tourists who visit Cuba at the expense of domestic crude.

The freedom to leave their country and return a basic right is universally recognized, but when used against those who suffer oppression, when passion or personal interest strengthens the oppressor, it falls on something as serious as it is unpatriotic.

Mr. President, for the Cuban homeland is much bigger and important than ourselves, and after this long and disastrous totalitarian experience we arrived at the full conviction, that similarity of the civil rights movement in the U.S., we just Cubans We shall be free when we are ready for the greatest sacrifices, and vicissitudes.

Although the solution to the problem of Cuba is not a democrat or republican, but the effort and determination of the Cubans, we are aware that the solidarity and support of a president of his intelligence, charisma and prestige could help to accelerate change both the longs Cubans.

I wish him every success in their governance, and reiterating that and do not forget to follow up these people and their struggle for freedom.

* Jorge Luis García Pérez Antúnez.

Former Cuban political prisoner who stayed 17 years and 38 days in punishment cells and confinement, subjected to the cruelest torture of all kinds to maintain his dignity as a defender of Human Rights"

Muchacho Enfermo

Flushed Away

Enough Said.

Chavez is at it... again... and again...

Today is another day of voting for the people of Venezuela, in yet another attempt to extend his stronghold on the oil rich country, Chavez has called another referendum that would allow him to remain in power as long as he can win elections. As a Canadian, I can't really complain about this, because this system is exactly what we have here in Canada, but as an outside observer I can't help but think that the people of Venezuela have told him no before and he should let sleeping dogs lie. IN fact the slogan of the opposition is "No is No!"

According to Reuters Chavez has deported an independent European lawyer who was in Caracas to observe the voting process. Showing yet again that Chavez has no interest in a fair democratic process and he fears that an independent observer might expose questionable practices in the voting process.

It has also been reported that Chavez's supporters have taken to calling him "El Comandante" the name once reserved for his mentor, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. If this nickname and his having kicked out an observer aren't enough to make any sane person cringe there is also the case of his campaign fliers that list the two reasons people should vote in favor of Chavez:
"Chavez loves us and love is repaid with love."
"Chavez is incapable of doing us harm."
I'm guessing that there will be a special 6 hour episode of "Hello President" today where Chavez proves his love for his country, bad mouths the US and scares people into voting for his reform.

The larger question is: Are the people really propping up the government of this Castro doppelganger or (with the lack of independent observation) is this government being kept in power by lies and votes that never happened?

Muchacho Enfermo

Daily dose of Terrorism

Something occurred to me yesterday in an email exchange with a friend, we were talking about the Cuban bloggers that we both enjoy reading (you can see links to their blogs in my "Stuff to Read" on the right hand side of your screen) and about the goings on within the island. We were talking about how recently (as you may have read on this blog) the state was still harassing the outspoken members of Porno Para Ricardo.

What occurred to me was this: would these young people be qualified as terrorists under Cuban law? So I started digging and found this: Law Number 93 : Law against acts of terrorism. So I read the 7 page document, although I'm no law expert, the section 8 was of special interest because it refers to the use of Information Technology in terrorism.

Like every other country Cuba has wide ranging definitions of the term terrorism, which leaves it open to interpretation on the part of the state. From the use of violence to cause terror all the way to "any person who incites or induces another or other persons by spoken word, in writing or in any other form, publicly or privately, to carry out some of the offenses envisaged in this Law."

One can argue that this doesn't specifically state that using the internet and email for blogging against the government or posting different opinions from that of the state are considered terrorist acts. But in section 8 we see the words anyone who "uses or allows use of electronic mail, other internet services..." So it's not hard to imagine that these bloggers with a little creative interpretation of the law could be considered terrorists.

In a state that considers a ceremony to remember 3 youths executed by the government as a terrorist act, can easily interpret what these bloggers are doing on a daily basis as terrorism.

I tip my hat to to them, because I enjoy reading what they write, because what they do is important, because they have guts, because they are trailblazers... and with that comes great burden and responsibility, they have become the voice of dissidence, the voice of the oppressed and the afraid, they are the guerillas of the Cuban internet.

The same way some considered Fidel to be a freedom fighter in the 50s, some people look at these bloggers as the freedom fighters of today. By the same token Fidel was a terrorist by Batista's standards and they are now terrorists by Fidel's standards.

Muchacho Enfermo

Castroite provocation or the work of a gutter snitch?

"Charlie's opinion"

Castroite provocation or the work of a gutter snitch?
Many of my friends have written to me very happily because Ciro wasn't
thrown in a cage with his band mates from Porno Para Ricardo.
I still have to answer to each of of these friends. I would like
everybody to know that even though Ciro was not taken to the dungeons
because he was not with the rest of the band, a guard barked his name
towards the rest of the prisoners in the holding pen. The Keystone Cops
of Castro were sure that they have also bagged him together with the
rest of the group. Ciro is not out of danger, and he is not that lucky
either.

We should take into account that the members of Porno Para Ricardo were
looking around at the Maxim facilities, according to what eyewitnesses
have referred to us and according to how the photographer Claudio
Fuentes tells the story. That's why Maxyuri, the "commander in chief" of
"la agencia del rock" (she's knows as "el Agente Yuro") and her
thug-of-the-day, the singer of Hipnosis (a.k.a. Zeppelin) reacted so
violently against the members of Porno Para Ricardo. The government is
using one of the oldest traits of rock'n'roll as a tool to do their
dirty work: the rivalry between bands has been used for the first time
to intimidate, to beat, to repress. As y'all know, singer of Hinosis
"Zeppelin" was not arrested in spite of having hit Gorki he and his
friend Maxyuri were just the hand chosen tool of repression and the
ones who called the police..

Besides what happened at the Maxim, one could think that the police and
the state security were framing up the members of Porno Para Ricardo,
with the only objective to be able to prosecute them as common
delinquents and truants, as is their style in Cuba. Not even in the
furthest corner of the civilized world the police would able to jail
some participants in a fight and let the others walk free, and much less
they would be even legally able to bag somebody due to his choice of
clothing or its decoration. It's just another right for those of us who
enjoy freedom of expression, action, and thought.

That the repressive forced squealed Ciro's name in front of the other
prisoners, with the objective to fine him for something in which he was
not remotely involved, only tells us that they were following a script
written with the collaboration of paid agents and volunteer snitches.
As we have denounced in other occasions, there's a conspiracy to silence
Porno Para Ricardo; there are forces who are trying to seed discord,
trying to break them up, and specially they are trying to isolate them
and to silence them. This has not been possible, because the fans fo the
band -in and out of Cuba- know all the details of their work. Then the
authorities are tying to put to work one of their oldest and more
cherished methods: to transform the ideological transgression into a
common crime.

The harassment will be based on the lowest feeling of envy and hate, and
the tyranny already counts on an apparatus of snitches very well
established, full of nosy neighbors and fake friends, even. It's evident
to us that the conspiracy is rough and crude, and that their methods
would make an amateur blush.

Nevertheless, not for this the conspiracy is less dangerous.


Written by Charlie Bravo

English version to follow

¿Provocación castrista o chivatazo?

Muchos amigos me han escrito muy contentos porque Ciro no fue enjaulado con los otros miembros de Porno Para Ricardo.

Aun no he respondido a cada uno de estos amigos. Quisiera que todos supieran que aunque Ciro no fue llevado a los calabozos porque no estaba con el resto del piquete, un guardia ladró su nombre hacia el grupo de prisioneros que estaba en la celda. La policía castrista estaba segura que lo habían capturado junto a los demas. Es decir, Ciro no esta fuera de peligro, ni tiene mucha suerte, tampoco.

Debemos tener en cuenta que los miembros del piquete curioseaban en el Maxim, segun testigos presenciales nos cuentan y segun cuenta la historia Claudio Fuentes. De ahi la reacción de Maxyuri, la "comandanta en jefe" de la Agencia del Rock, más conocida como el Agente Yuro, y el cantante de Hipnosis, su esbirro de turno conocido como el Zeppelin.

El gobierno esta utilizando la mas vieja caracteristica del rock and roll, la rivalidad entre bandas, para golpear y tratar de intimidar. Naturalmente, como ya se sabe, a pesar de golpear a Gorki el Zeppelin no fue encarcelado, el solo fue el instrumento escogido de la represión y él y Maxyuri quienes llamaron a la policia.

Aparte de lo sucedido en el Maxim, todo nos lleva a pensar que la policía y la seguridad del estado han tendido una serie de trampas al piquete, con el unico objetivo de poderles encausar por figuras delictivas comunes -al menos, en Cuba.

En ningún rincon del mundo civilizado pueden llevarse a nadie por una pelea si no se llevan a todos los participantes, o mucho menos por cualquier símbolo que se tenga en la ropa, aunque parte de la sociedad lo considere de mal gusto. Simplemente, el derecho a ponerse cualquier prenda de ropa decorada de cualquier modo es un derecho más para todos los que disfrutamos de la libertades de acción, pensamiento, y expresión.

Que las fuerzas represivas chillaran el nombre de Ciro a los demas prisioneros, para llamarle a multarlo, solo nos dice que estaban siguiendo un guión escrito con la colaboración de agentes a sueldo e informantes voluntarios. Como hemos denunciado en varias ocasiones hay una conspiración para silenciar al piquete: hay fuerzas que estan tratando de causar divisiones, aislamiento, y sobre todo, silenciarlos. Esto último no ha sido posible, ya que el público de la banda dentro y fuera de Cuba conoce todos los detalles de la labor del grupo, y por lo tanto, están poniendo en práctica un viejo método; transformar la transgresión ideológica en crimen común. El acoso se basará en los más bajos sentimientos de envidia y odio, y la tiranía cuenta ya con un aparato de chivatos muy bien establecido, lleno de vecinos fisgones y hasta de falsos amigos.

Se nos ha hecho evidente que la conspiración es burda y cruda, con métodos que harían ruborizar a un aficionado.

No por eso es menos peligrosa, sin embargo.

Castro's words from beyond the grave?

Fidel Castro published his latest "reflections" yesterday in the official paper of the Cuban Communist Party. He hadn't written one in over a month. This latest reflection is much shorter then his previous ones and is published at a time where the rumors of his death are once again surfacing all over the internet.

Havana Journal has published them in English for all of us to read. I find this latest "reflection" to be vastly different, not only in length, from his previous ones. It's written much more candidly and he actually praises the new President of the United States. Let's take look so you can see what I mean...

"No one can doubt the sincerity of his words when he affirms that he will convert his country into a model of freedom, respect for human rights in the world and the independence of other nations."

"The intelligent and noble face of the first black president of the United States since its founding two and one-third centuries ago as an independent republic had transformed itself under the inspiration of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King into a living symbol of the American dream."

Really? Have you ever heard Fidel or anyone in the CCP talk about the American dream like it was a good thing? Or for that matter say that "No one can doubt the sincerity of his words"? This is very unlike Fidel.

"I have reduced the Reflections as I had planned this year, so as not to interfere or get in the way of the (Communist) Party or government comrades"

Again, does this sound like Fidel Castro? Since when has he not interfered with affairs of government in Cuba?

"I am well, but I insist that none of them should feel bound by my occasional Reflections, my state of health or my death."

And this is where I start to think that he's not even writing these at all... Telling the Cuban government not to be swayed by the state of his health or his death? This doesn't sound like something he would write at all.

In fact I'm willing to bet that someone in CCP wrote this because El Comandante is no longer around to write these himself. They're just trying to set the stage for the announcement I'm sure... Oh well who knows.

Muchacho Enfermo

50 years later...

I could start my blogging year by talking about Gaza or about how Russia is cutting Ukraine's gas again, I could speak about the war in Afghanistan or about Hoder who is still in jail for his blog. But instead I'll I'll start the year by blogging, again, about Cuba.

Everyone from Reuters to Al Jazeera was talking about it... Even local papers here were talking about it. The Globe and Mail had a great little slide show. 50 years of Revolution. 50 years of hard times. 18,263 days of censorship. 438,312 hours of living under the same government without a free election.

I didn't get a chance to finish my year in blogs... but here's a just a few (and please feel free to add to the list) few blogs about Cuba that everyone should check out, blogger from within the island and Cuban expats write about their love and their sadness and the hardships. Zurama the other of one of these blogs suggested that Cuban bloggers should dress in black today to mourn 50 years of having no freedom... that, for all of us, should speak volumes.

http://www.desdecuba.com/generationy/
http://octavocercoen.blogspot.com/
http://desdecuba.com/sin_evasion_en/
http://desdecuba.com/reinaldoescobar_en/
http://el-guama.blogspot.com/
http://habanemia.blogspot.com/
http://penultimosdias.com/
http://zuramascuba.blogspot.com/

Muchacho Enfermo

New book on Castro... again?

Propoganda author extraordinaire Luis Baez has done it again... He's collected even more useless quotes of people around the world praising Fidel Castro in his latest book Asi Es Fidel.

My loathing for this author began last time I was in a Cuban airport waiting for my flight home. I had nothing to read and had 12cucs (convertible pesos) left. So I bought a TuCola and I bought a book from a little stand. The only 10cuc book they had was a little book called Absolved by History by Luis Baez.

As the plane took off into the sunset and I was once again leaving my adopted home I opened the book and decided to start reading. The first thing I read was an introduction about Fidel Castro called: Maestro of Generosity. It talks about Fidel's giving nature and his deep love and commitment to his people. Despite my instant surge of anger I read on. Each quote more ludicrous and out of context then the next. None of the quotes are dated, none of them properly documented, but they're mostly by great political minds such as Kevin Costner and Naomi Campbell.

Later when I came home and was finally reunited with my beloved high speed internet I did some research and found out that in his long list of pro-Castro titles was a book called dissidents. A book which talks about the 75 conviction of the 2003 of "dissidents". His book supports the regime and back up their tactics and even attempts to justify the reasons these people are still jailed.

His latest stab at journalism and authorship promises to be equally as great. It was read December 22nd at the opening of the Reading History Festival in Havana along with Che notebooks and the book 50 Songs in Time of Revolution.

Although I am loathe to say this, I can't bash him just because he's a crony and a biased author... Heck I'm a biased author and most of the people I read and support are also biased. The only thing I have going for me that he doesn't is that I do it out of my own free will and not at the behest of a dictatorship.

Muchacho Enfermo

Castro: Wants to trade political prisoners for the "Cuban Five"

In Brazil today President Castro, little brother of Fidel Castro, has said that he is willing to send political prisoners and their families to the US in exchange for the "Cuban Five". The Cuban five are currently imprisoned in the US for espionage and attempted murder.

Castro has stated that he do "gesture for gesture" as a show of goodwill to the president elect Barack Obama and hopefully spur talks about ending the embargo. This comes on the heals of the other 32 South American and Caribbean nations having urged the US, last Tuesday, to end the embargo against Cuba.

We will have to wait and see if this pans out for Castro. If it does it would mean a major image boost in Cuba for his regime that has done their best to portray the "Cuban Five" as the "Five Heroes".

Nobody knows how this will play out on either side. Will Cuba hold their end of the proposed deal? Will the US cave and make the trade? This could be a chance to help the US rebuild their international reputation that has suffered worldwide in the last few years. International pressure has been mounting in the last few months for the US to lift the embargo, since both the UN and the EU have both voted to oppose it.

In my opinion, nothing will come of this, both sides are too entrenched in their self-righteousness to make a move and both sides have to deal with tremendous opposition pressure from within. I think this was just another volley in an ongoing war of words between the two nations.

For more information please visit Reuters.

Muchacho Enfermo