The truth is in the numbers.

The Castro Cartel can say whatever it wants about dissidents being paid by foreign oppressors and they can have all the little press releases and columns by Comrade Fidel that they want, print all the propaganda in the world, but the bottom line is: it just doesn’t fucking matter.

I got curious today while I was on lunch, so I decided to do some comparisons of Alexa rankings and compare different sites:

Desdecuba.com/generaciony Global ranking: 73,233 (http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/desdecuba.com)

Granma.ca Global ranking: 107,519 (http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/granma.cu)

So if anyone, anywhere in the world would like to question the power of free expression and the determination of those who want to speak out: the statistics speak for themselves. The global relevance of a state run rag filled with propaganda about commercial accords with Viet Nam, the global importance of the sugar cane and how rosy life is under a never-ending dictatorship, is in effect: null.

An independent blogger, blogging through whatever means she cans reaches a wider global audience than a news website that tries so hard to discredit anyone who doesn’t agree with the official position of the party.

I would really love to add more to this but I think I’ll let the number do the talking from here on in…

73,233 > 107,519

PS: my traffic rank…Mypolicophobia.blogspot.com Global ranking: 27,446,962... that's right baby, TWENTY SEVEN MILLION FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY SIX THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED AND SIXTY TWO!!! That's like 4 million spots down from last year!

Cuban author threatened, they even called his mother!

A book launch planned for Monday February 16th in Havana, hosted by world famous blogger Yoani Sanchez, for the new book of Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo called Boring Home is now threatened by the government.

Early this morning a blog post on Octavo Cerco showed an email that is circulating on the Caubarte.cu intranet. An email that is a not so subtle threat to OLPL and to those planning to attend the meeting. Yoani Sanchez has posted about it on Generation Y a few hours following the post on Octavo Cerco and shows the same email.

OLPL`s mother also received a call to tell her to warn her son not to go. I mean seriously, how sad is that when a government resorts to calling your mom?

I'll post a copy of the email here but please refer to the above mentioned websites for more insight and details:


I’ve heard a there’s a message circulating, by email, promoting the presentation on this coming Monday, the 16th, outside La Cabaña, of a book by Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, and that it will be presented by the infamous and counterrevolutionary blogger, Yoanni Sánchez, who is well compensated by the empire.

A few months ago a photo of Pardo Lazo also circulated, masturbating over a Cuban flag, an act that outrages all the sons of this country and of other latitudes because this is an insult to a symbol of the country. His literary work is little known, however this fact was disclosed as part of the propaganda against Cuba.

Pardo Lazo has become a puppet at the service of Yoanni and her clique.

I don’t think they would carry out this stupid activity, to do so will give them a fright like that I’ve read in the “summons,” and I’ve also had news of some disagreeable surprises they are going to find there.

I still can't believe they called his mom...

Muchacho Enfermo

Vote for Yoani!

Yesterday I asked you all to support Ashin Mettacara for the Weblog log awards as he was nominated in the "Best Asian Blog" category. Today I am asking you to show your support for Yoani Sanchez as her blog Generation Y has been nominated in the "Best Latino, Caribbean or South American Blog" category.

Yoani is Cuba's most famous blogger, her blog has been blocked from within the island, she has gone head to head with Mariela Castro, she has been interviewed by countless TV stations and was voted by Time magazine as one of the world's most influential people.

Yet, her government still finds ways to harass her and the handful of blogger that blog in Cuba about Cuba. In December both her and her husband, along with another blogger Claudia Cadelo, were summoned by the Ministry of the Interior and were told in no uncertain terms that they should cancel a meeting of Cuban bloggers that was planned for the following weekend. These awards help raise awareness about her cause and help keep her out of jail.

Just as you did yesterday by voting for Ashin Mettacara, please take 30 seconds out of your day and show your support for Yoani and all of the other Cuban bloggers who risk their freedom to fight for freedom speech and freedom of opinion.

Muchacho Enfermo

Mariela Castro and US agree on Human Rights

The US this week was the only western nation to vote a against a non-binding declaration proposed by the UN to decriminalize homosexuality. In voting against this motion the US is sending a clear message that although it has signed the Declaration of Human Rights 60 years ago, it seems that it considers homosexuality to be outside of that declaration and that sexual preference is not a basic Human Right.

In Cuba, Mariela Castro (daughter of Raul Castro and director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education) was holding a conference on the inclusion of homosexuals and transgendered people into Cuban society. At this conference she was asked by Yoani Sanchez (author of Generation Y)if Cuba's acceptance of gay and transgendered rights would open the door for a more widespread reform on Human Rights, such as giving Cubans the right to have political opinions. Mariela answered that this was outside her field of responsibility. Later in a letter she wrote, she more or less indicates that a discussion about gay rights is in no way related to a discussion about greater Human Rights.

So.... without even talking to each other about it both Cuba and the US seem to think that sexual preference is not really related to Human Rights. Maybe these two feuding nations have more in common then they like to admit.

Muchacho Enfermo