Sting goes to Cuba

UPDATED
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Tonight at 8:30PM in Miami, FL, Bloggers United for Cuban Liberty (BUCL) are holding a candlelight vigil for Cuba's past and present political prisoners with an appeal to Sting, singer of The Police, to advocate for human rights on the band's concert in Havana Miami scheduled for tomorrow.
Correction The Havana concert is not scheduled yet; tomorrow he's playing Miami.

Ponder that for a moment: Sting, yoga practitioner and human rights activist in the 1980s, is playing in the island prison. This is the one opportunity that Sting has to show what he's about. Let's hope he's not one of these.

And the fans are calling him on it: Fans Call On 'The Police' For Liberty Of Cubans

Henry Gomez and Alberto de la Cruz are both huge fans of Sting and the Police. They are also both bloggers who advocate democracy in Cuba, and when they heard their favorite band might be performing in Havana, they had an idea.

"We really want to appeal to Sting, The Police and their better angels to do what's right," said Gomez, of Bloggers United for Cuban Liberty.

What they want is for Sting and The Police to take up the cause of Cuba's political prisoners, people such as human rights activist Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, who is serving a 25-year-sentence.

"The Cuban political prisoners right now are largely being ignored by the media and the world, and we want to bring that to light that they are not invisible, that they do exist," said his partner Alberto de la Cruz.

The bloggers have launched an awareness campaign to coincide with the band's concert in Miami July 10th. They call it the Campaign for the Invisible Ones, a name taken from the lyrics of a song Sting wrote in honor of the Chilean mothers whose sons and daughters disappeared during the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile.

Henry has a video you must see:


Click on the logo for the Bloggers United for Cuban Liberty website:

Here is their Campaign Fact Sheet.

While the Cuban government insists that there are no political prisoners in Cuba, Marc Masferrer has a list of journalists now in Cuban prisons. I have posted extensively on the subject.

Cuba has an apartheid medical system, which Castro apologists ignore even when eyewitnesses clearly attest to the facts. And now Michael Moore's croc makes some wonder if there is a way to take that knee-jerk sting out of the phrase "socialized medicine."

Does it come down to an illness of the soul?

The apologists of tyranny are again hard at work trying to redeem the one of the last outposts of communist enslavement. They see a "worker's paradise"; a "healthcare utopia", but underneath the civilized veneer of Castro's Cuba is the same deadening illness of the soul that infected all the other failed communist and socialist "paradises".

And for that illness, the only cure is Freedom.

We'll see what Sting is all about in a day or two.

If you are in Miami tonight, the demonstration is in front of Versailles on 8th Street.

UPDATE
Since my podcast guest couldn't make it, I dedicated my podcast to this subject.
You can listen to the podcast here

Gerard Van der leun of American Digest will be my guest next week.

The dungeon where a political prisoner did time in Cuba

One of the things Matt Lauer didn't show when he was in Havana last Tuesday is this video of the wife of political prisoner Dr Oscar Elias Biscet, where she describes the conditions political prisoners face in isolation dungeons.

I had mentioned the video when Val Prieto and I were in my friend Captain Ed 's Blog Talk Radio guests (you can listen to the podcast here).

Here's the video (in Spanish):


Two years ago I translated the video, as follows:

In the video, Dr. Biscet's wife, Elsa Morejon, explains (at great risk to herself) that this is a full-scale replica of the dungeon in which Dr. Biscet was imprisoned, "despite the fact that Cuba has signed international agreements and rules on prisoner treatment".

Ms Morejon points to a piece of paper with her husband's words on the front wall of the dungeon. Dr. Biscet spent the months of November and December, 2004, including New Year's Eve, in a dungeon like it. She points to the narrow slot on the door, for delivery of food, and in some dungeons the slots are positioned at different heights. "There are no windows, no lights since for a while he didn't have a light bulb, no ventilation, in Cuba, a country with very high temperatures".

Inside the dungeon she points to a pipe for water, a hole for latrine. She shows the actual shoes he owned during that period, and how the leather rotted. She lists the meager possessions a prisoner is allowed: underwear, a towel, a sheet, toothpaste, cup, toothbrush, soap, deodorant, sometimes prisoners are allowed to have their Bible with them. No bed is provided. The prisoner sleeps on the floor, and "sometimes they are brought a filthy mattress at 10PM".

The food they are given is unfit for human consumption.

Ms Morejon asks, "We ask the world to intercede and ask Cuba to set my husband free. He's a man who loves God and justice, who believes in non-violence, and shouldn't be there [in prison], because all he's asked for is to live in democracy in his own country".

Notice how they didn't show the video at the Princeton Human Rights Film Festival, either.



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Mr. Beans, and today's items

"It doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."
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TigerHawk Liveblogged the Democratic Presidential Debate so we wouldn't haZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Update: Dozing off to the Dems
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Africans for Wolfowitz
Third World reformers resist a coup by rich Europeans

The real World Bank scandal is that Mr. Wolfowitz's enemies don't care much about Africa. The French and Brits who want him ousted have never entirely shaken the paternalism they developed during the colonial era. Their real priority is controlling the bank purse-strings and perquisites.

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One Choice in Iraq

Indeed, to the extent that last week's bloodshed clarified anything, it is that the battle of Baghdad is increasingly a battle against al-Qaeda. Whether we like it or not, al-Qaeda views the Iraqi capital as a central front of its war against us.

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Will Franken: Comedy, Not Political Correctness
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El Cafe Cubano continues the Friday fast for all political prisoners in Cuba
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It's pouring rain again. Will make sure to keep the modem dry.

Of prawns and pawns

Yesterday around noon I was meeting a friend while trying to navigate the very noisy lobby of the Museum of Modern Art, which was packed to the gills with a very wet crowd of loud people on Easter Break who had ventured in the cold rain. The place felt like an airport the day before Thanksgiving, only with no departures, just arrivals.

My friend and I finally found each other and since the MoMA was mobbed with the crowd we decided to have lunch across the street at Gattopardo. We rushed out of the noisy MoMA across the noisy and rainy cold street, walked into the restaurant and were warmly greeted into a sanctuary of elegant quiet and excellent food.

I had a most excellent plate of prawns that must have come from Paradise. They were that good.

To make a long story short, I had a wonderful afternoon and was totally unaware of anything in the news until evening, when I was reading this post from Siggy (who's as fond of Bond as I am of Bryn). Siggy said,

Mahmoud Ahmadenijad's 'pardon' and release of those 15 British sailors and marines is no more a gesture of Iran's inherent 'goodness' than were Adolph Hitler's displays of affection for his dog - and it is important that we understand that.

Until then I had not heard that Mahmoud Ahmadenijad had been saying that he had pardoned the hostages.

Shortly after, the BBC newscast showed Tony Blair talking about "how much he respects the Iranians".

I couldn't believe my ears.

Yes, the hostages were not yet out of Iran, but for Blair to stoop down to praising a culture of shame with his respect was beyond belief. The same culture of shame who for two weeks publically paraded and humiliated IN COMPLETE DISREGARD OF GENEVA CONVENTIONS PROTOCOL fifteen members of the British forces.

Make no mistake, the hostages were political prisoners and as such were humiliated. For an explanation of this point, listen to the Sanity Squad, and listen to what Siggy had to say about the videos of the hostages.

By expressing his respect, Tony Blair, who apparently got gelded along the way, became a pawn.

Margaret Thatcher would have "pardoned" Ahmadenijad's grubby little butt into the ground from the get-go.

But we live in different times.

While we stand on the shoulders of giants like Thatcher and Reagan and are able to feast on prawns while we still can, undoubtedly because of the sacrifice of people like the hostages, the Democrats have ended the war on terror by banishing the term, because the

Democratic leadership doesn't like the phrase.

(h/t Alcibiades).

Mind you, I don't like the term either, and would definitely prefer to call it the war on Caliphate Islam. But that won't suit the Democrat mindset, whose delicate sensibilites has them doing anti-terror drills against Christians (during Lent, no less), just a few miles away from here. Because of course we don't want to upset Muslims

The real story is that it has become acceptable to discriminate against Christians with bigoted characterizations that portray them as gun wielding psycho killers. Such bigotry is a common occurrence in film, on TV and the internet, in schools and in city halls across America. Newspapers cover such stories with zest and a certain sense of shoulder shrugging normalcy.

Instead of the war on terror, we now have 'The War That Must Not Be Named'.

That way we can digest our prawns with ease. While my friend and I found temporary shelter from the daily grind at a lovely restaurant, the Dems are seeking permanent shelter from reality through a linguistic trick. This has become part and parcel of their grab for power.

The Dem's grab for power at any price includes having Nancy playing pretend at being Secretary of State, making new friends with our enemies, lying about our friends, and veiling herself with an Hermes scarf,

The Reform Party of Syria, which is not playing pretend because it can not afford to, explains what's really behind the veil:

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was seen roaming the streets of Damascus flaunting a Hijab. The Hijab worn by women across the Muslim world has come to symbolize either one of three things: 1) a symbol that men control women by forcing piety, or 2) a return to religiosity because of oppressive rulers, or 3) a fashion statement. If you ask any expert on the Middle East, you would get any one of three answers. The ones who usually claim it is a fashion statement are the political rulers who usually oppress people in general. A Hijab is NOT a confirmation of the rights of women in the Middle East but rather a symbol of their suppression.

At least Siggy was able to look at the bright side,

she could have been photograped wearing a Palestinian keffiyah.

Because a pawn is a pawn is a pawn no matter how expensive a scarf she wears.

Special thanks to Maria and Larwyn.
Update: Pratfall in Damascus
(Note To those who asked, my friend's a vegetarian - she had the spinach)

Technorati tags Nancy Pelosi

The great news about the economy, and today's items

Larry Kudlow on the great economy,

Averages across-the-board are now moving toward all-time highs: Dow, transports, utilities, the small cap Russell 2000, the NYSE index and D-J Wilshire 5000. Inside the indexes, the story is the same: commodities, cyclicals, defense, machinery and construction all hitting all-time highs. The depth, breadth and resiliency of this rally is remarkable.

America's bull market economy stands at the epicenter of the newly capitalist world market economy. Therefore, it is no surprise that America's stock rise is being emulated around the world. This is called economic leadership.

The reality is that non-inflationary growth and rising living standards are occurring all around the globe. For this, thank the spread of American-style, free-market capitalism. Some call it cowboy capitalism, but I prefer to think of it as prosperity capitalism.

Record wealth is now being created among a hundred million-plus investors in the United States, including union and public employee pension fund holders who are 60 percent invested in the Bernanke bull market. This, even though they rail against stock market wealth and business in general, and still don't get it that their retirement wealth bread is being buttered by the fabulous expansion of the portfolio value of the ownership society.

Stocks are the best barometer of future business and economic health. They are signaling that the wealth of the nation currently and prospectively looks excellent.

Democrats rule the roost on Capitol Hill, but Bernanke stuck to his free market principles. He is targeting inflation and employment, and so far doing a good job with both.

Does anybody remember that President George W. Bush appointed Bernanke? And that Bush's record-low tax rates on capital have promoted strong economic growth? And that this tax-driven growth and investment surge brings inflation down by absorbing the excess money created by Alan Greenspan between 2003 and 2005? The availability of more goods and services makes the existing money supply less inflationary.

In his brief tenure, Bernanke has mopped up this excess liquidity and reduced inflation expectations. Meanwhile, low tax rates are counter-inflationary. So, a combination of strong economic growth and newfound monetary control are working together for the betterment of investors, workers, businesses and federal finances. The supply-side model is very much in place right now.

Contrast that with France
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The "Surge" appears in the streets of Baghdad. Muqtada al-Sadr goes AWOL. The terrorists are hurting.
Where are the Democrats?
Democrats Will Follow Iraq Vote With Push to Block More Troops

And they support the troops, yeah, right.
It's called De-legitimizing the Troops, folks.
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El Cafe Cubano continues the Friday fast for all political prisoners.
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Cultural Marxism

Critical Theory is an ongoing and brutal assault via vicious criticism relentlessly leveled against Christians, Christmas, the Boy Scouts, Ten Commandments, our military, and all other aspects of traditional American culture and society.

Both political correctness and Critical Theory are in essence, psychological bullying. They are the psycho-political battering rams by which Frankfurt School disciples such as the ACLU are forcing Americans to submit to and to obey the will and the way of the Left. These devious devices are but psychological versions of Georg Lukacs and Laventi Beria's 'cultural terrorism' tactics.

Read it all. (h/t Larwyn)
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Dr. Krauthammer writes on how Russia steps back on the world stage
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Amanda Marcotte manages to put together half a dozen sentences without profanity. She keeps that up, I'll start believing in global warming.

It's 13F in The Principality. Amanda's got her work cut out for her.

Who's to blame for Marcotte's fall? According to her, Dan's one of the culprits.
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Over at the church of global warming, Antarctic temperatures disagree with climate model predictions

A new report on climate over the world's southernmost continent shows that temperatures during the late 20th century did not climb as had been predicted by many global climate models.

This comes soon after the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that strongly supports the conclusion that the Earth's climate as a whole is warming, largely due to human activity.

It also follows a similar finding from last summer by the same research group that showed no increase in precipitation over Antarctica in the last 50 years. Most models predict that both precipitation and temperature will increase over Antarctica with a warming of the planet.

Oh, I forgot, it's not global warming; it's climate change.
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Stop the ACLU celebrates its first million visitors.
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Al Franken announces a run for the Senate: a Transcript (h/t Larwyn)
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Don't trust those Reuters photos. And yes, the bombs are retarded.
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If you're a woman who can't find a guy who wants to commit, and you can't figure out why, read this.

Fast for Cuban political prisoners reminder

El Cafe Cubano urges us to join in a Fast every Friday for all Political Prisoners in Cuba!

Political prisoners languish in prison in apartheid Cuba and the media ignores their struggles and cause. We must not forget our brothers and show them signs that we are with them and support them!

El Cafe Cubano knows how indifferent people are to the enslaved Cubans. The comment at this post, for which I translated from Spanish and French, was "who cares?"

Is Castro-Chavez video a fake?

Because ignoring the enslavement of a people only prolongs it.

Speaking of ignorants, Oscar-Winning Monster Mouths Off

Promoting her latest project, East of Havana, a film about Cuban rappers, Theron went on a tirade about her adopted home country that left even the broadcast veteran embarrassed. Asked about Cuba's lack of freedom under Castro, Theron said to Sanchez, "I would argue that there's a lack of freedom in America."

Stunned, the anchor checked to make sure he understood the actress correctly. But even after Sanchez sensibly pointed out that people aren't incarcerated for their political beliefs in the U.S., Theron stumbled on, comparing Castro's jailing of dissidents to media outlets firing reporters for failing to meet appropriate standards of objective reporting (or in television’s case, just for pulling low ratings).

Sanchez then pressed the star further, offering her every chance to recant her ridiculous statement, but the blonde refused to take the bait. (Apparently nobody bothered to tell Theron that Sanchez is of Cuban descent, and like many of his heritage, probably not as inclined to idolize the communist dictator as most of Hollywood seems to be.) "Do you think the lack of freedoms in Cuba are parallel to the lack of freedoms in the United States?" he asked. "Well, I would," answered Theron, "I would compare those two. Yes, definitely."

Finally Sanchez stated the obvious: "It sounds like you don't have a very high opinion of the United States." Theron tried to claim otherwise despite her disparagements, but seconds later, completely flummoxed, the woman Harper's Bazaar called "a smart, down-to-earth dame" fell back on the ploy so many actresses before her have resorted to. Said the South African bombshell to Sanchez, "I want to make out with you right now."

She may be an Academy Award winner, but subtle, she ain't.

And there is more reason to applaud Sanchez than for merely his impressive interview techniques and that is for his rare-in-his-business willingness to call them like he sees them. Rather than cover for a powerful film industry insider (and a stunning one at that) like many of his colleagues have in the past, Sanchez observed that Theron's bizarre outburst was simply, A way for a beautiful woman to get a guy to change the subject."

I like that in a guy.

Update Cuba's Castro 'able to eat again'.
Yeah, right.