Uncommon Sense

Is this the day? (UPDATED)

There are unconfirmed reports from Havana of happenings that suggest something big has happened.

Babalú has the speculation.

UPDATED, 1:08 p.m. EDT

Charlie Bravo has more.

Column: The dengue cover-up (9/29/06)

By MARC R. MASFERRER

The exact nature of Fidel Castro's illness has been guarded by the Cuban government as a "state secret."

Similarly, a veil of secrecy, and perhaps deceit, has been cast on a much more serious health problem for Cuba: An apparent epidemic of dengue.

"Apparent" is the only way to describe it, since the Cuban government — as is typical of a dictatorship that uses controls on information to repress its people — has not been forthcoming with details about the current crisis. Everyone in Havana and other cities has seen the clouds of insecticides used to attack the disease-carrying mosquitos that spread dengue, and heard exhortations from temporary dictator Raúl Castro and other government officials about the importance of stamping out the epidemic.

But there has been no information released by the government detailing how widespread the epidemic really is.

Reports from overseas, as well as the domestic independent press, have cited a wide range of figures — anywhere from 4,000 to 35,000 people infected, and anywhere from 40 to 700 dead. (On a per capita basis, that would be the equivalent of as many as 955,000 Americans infected, with as many as 19,000 dead.)

Instead of releasing details about the size of the epidemic, the regime has resorted to what dictatorships do best: Repression. Coincidentally, but probably not, at least two independent journalists, Odelin Alfonso and Abel Escobar who had reported about the epidemic have recently been detained and threatened by the police.

And now, according to a new story written by Escobar — Cuba’s independent journalists are some of the bravest scribes in the world — and distributed by CubaNet, health workers describe how they have been warned not to release information about the dengue epidemic.

Here is the story, which I received via e-mail, in its entirety:

Health workers threatened if outbreak information leaks

MORON, Cuba – September 26 (Abel Escobar Ramírez / www.cubanet.org) –
Workers at the Morón General Hospital in Ciego de Ávila province say
they have been warned that should any of them leak any information about the
current outbreak of dengue fever they will lose their jobs without any right to appeal.

One worker who asked not to be named said the different departments in
the facility have been informed that should any information leak out to
radio stations or web pages abroad, the informants will be fired
because this information, according to hospital administrators, "is used
by the enemy to overthrow the Revolution."

The worker said that in general workers are fearful to express any
concerns they may have lest they be taken as informants and fired. So, he
said, a recent breakdown of the water pumps feeding the hospital went
unreported for days.

There you have it, “the revolution,” not the health and welfare of the people or their right to know what is happening in their own country takes precedence — no matter the cost. Especially when what is at stake is one of the fundamental pillars of the revolution — Cuba’s vaunted health care system — and the regime’s very hold on power.

So Cubans don’t know how sick Fidel Castro really is.

And they don’t know how likely it is or isn’t that they will come down with a potentially deadly disease.

Abajo la revolución, indeed.

Chavez, the devil you know

Found at Cox & Forkum.

Cuban prisoner update

Posted at Net for Cuba:

Situation of prisoners of conscience in Cuban prisons awaiting due process for more than a year

HAVANA, CUBA- September 29 ( Aini Martín Valero,Cuba-Verdad/Puenteinfocubamiami.org)- Cuban independent journalists will never stop denouncing the injustices committed against the Cuban political prisoners. This article reflects the present situation of some of the prisoners of conscience imprisoned in Cuban jails since July 22, 2005, without due process to date.

In the case of Julio César López Rodríguez, vice president of "Frente Línea Dura", with the acronyms (FLD) imprisoned in the Canaleta Prison in Matanzas: Julio suffers from hypertension and according to information provided by his brother, Prison authorities constantly deny him medication to alleviate fungi and ulcers that cover his hands and feet. Also denying medication for his stomach ulcer and as a result is spitting blood. He’s been subjected to brutal beatings because he discredits the State televised program The Round Table before the prison population who is forced to watch the program. Julio Cesar was in a hunger strike the 7 days that lasted the recent Summit of the non aligned celebrated in Havana, protesting the event.

In the case of Miguel Lopez Santos, coordinator of the Movement to Rescue Liberty and Democracy, with the acronym (MRLD), imprisoned in the Maximum Security Prison Combinado de Guantanamo; this prisoner of conscience has lost more than 30 pounds. He suffers from epilepsy and * psychological disorders along with severe headaches and has not received medical attention for over 9 months now. He has been in and out of prisons in the past for openly opposing the Castro regime.

Lopez Santos is the creator of the Cross of the Opposition and has received many beatings for traveling through all municipalities in Havana carrying the huge cross for all to see. Photograph can be seen at: www.puenteinfocubamiami.org/cuba_latest2006.htm

In the case of Francisco Moure Salabarría, president of the Movement to Rescue Liberty and Democracy, with the acronym (MRLD), imprisioned in the maximum security prison in Guira de Melena; this prisoner of conscience has lost most of his vision, suffers from muscular pains and sleep disorders. Suffers from diarrhea as a result of the water contamination in the prison but continues to be firm in his convictions against the ideology of the Cuban regime.

In the case of Emilio Leyva Pérez, president of "Frente Línea Dura", with the acronyms (FLD) imprisoned in the prison Kilo 5 ½ , Pinar del Rio. This prisoner of conscience suffers from a peptic ulcer, Hernia Iatal, poor circulation that causes constant swelling of his hands and feet. Emilio denounces an increase of prisoner suffering with Leptopirosis, due to the large quantity of rants in the prison. He kept in an isolated cell, without electricity or sunlight and the food they give him is poor and most of the times bad.

It is of the utmost importance for international organizations to continue to put pressure on the Cuban government for the release or proper due process for the above mentioned prisoners of conscience who are suffering immensely inside the Cuban penitentiary system.

Cuban police raid library in my father's hometown

My father, Raimundo Francisco "Ray" Masferrer Martinez, was born and raised in Antilla, a small seaside town in eastern Cuba, near Holguín.

Like in many other Cuban towns and cities, in Antilla there are pockets of resistance to the Castro dictatorship, such as at the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes independent library in the Pubelo Nuevo neighborhood.

Payolibre is reporting today that four police officers on Wednesday raided the library and confiscated several publications and other items.

Among the things taken were 160 books on various topics; 60 magazines; 37 copies of El Nuevo newspaper, which is published in Miami; some literature from CubaNet; DVDs containing TV Martí programing; 12 video cassettes; and a machine used to reproduce video tapes.

Librarian José Ramón Herrera Fernández told journalist Ahmed Rodríguez Albacia that the police's stormtrooper tactics would only strengthen the opposition as it "struggles for democratic change on the island."

For more on Cuba's independent libraries, visit Friends of Cuban Libraries.

Last month, the Friends reported that the Cuban government has been carrying out repressive acts against independent libraries since early this year.

Castro's Cuba is a pervert's paradise

There are many ways to measure the Castro regime's total disregard for the welfare of its citizens.

For instance, the regime is complicit — whether by its inaction or, more likely, its active participation — in the exploiting of women and children for the sexual pleasure of foreign tourists.

The chief pimps are the Castro brothers themselves — Raúl, as head of the military, which runs the Cuban tourism industry; and Fidel, because he gets a cut of all the action.

The U.S. State Department's Trafficking In Persons report, which was released earlier this year, has the details:

Cuba is a source country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced child labor. The nature and extent of trafficking in the country is hard to gauge due to the closed nature of the government and a lack of non-governmental reporting. However, Cuba is a major destination for sex tourism, which largely caters to hundreds of thousands of European, Canadian, and Latin American tourists. Cuba’s thriving sex trade involves large numbers of minors and there is anecdotal evidence that state-run hotel workers, travel company employees, taxicab drivers, bar and restaurant workers, and law enforcement personnel are complicit in the commercial sexual exploitation of these children. There are also reports that Cuban women have been trafficked to Mexico for sexual exploitation, in addition to unconfirmed reports that Cubans are forced to work as deckhands on smuggling trips in order to pay off large smuggling debts. Cuban forced labor victims also include children coerced into working in commercial agriculture.

Just remember this the next time some American starts to clamor for the right to vacation in Castro's hell.

Read all of the report's section on Cuba here.

(H/T to Miscelaneas de Cuba.)

Imagine being this big of an idiot

Just received a comment to my recent post about Ramiro "Darth" Valdes that I wanted to republish here.

Can anyone help this guy out?

How about you, Conductor, does this fit the criteria for "Ask A Cuban American?"

I have neither the time nor the patience for anyone who would equate Fidel Castro with Jeb Bush.

Here's the comment:

I'm not a cuban, and am not a cuban/american, but I wonder about the people I hear of Radio Havana Cuba. For example, who is Phillip Agee. Was he not an employee of the CIA, so why is he now a useful idiot for Fidel? And who is Ralph Nader who the car companies in Detroit illegally spied on him after he published the book "unsafe at any speed." Maybe you can explain why the USA so-called freedom press never draws attention to the statue of John Lennon in Cuba. And, one more question, WHO IS ED NEUMAN, the american english voice one hears giving the news at Radio Havana Cuba. I don't know spanish, and listen to the Radio Havana Cuba, so I have nothing but questions about, not only Fidel Castro but also questions about Jeb Bush. There's too much absurdity on both sides to be happy with any of them, that's why I say:

"NUKE CUBA Y FLORIDA."

Hope you have some answers to my many doubts and questions.

Chavez tries out a new partner

They're not Abbott and Costello, or even Marx and Lenin, but Hugo Chavez and his Ecuadorean tag team partner Rafael Correa have their own comedy act they are trying to sell.

Unfortunately, they are not funny.

Just dangerous.

First, Chavez, the Clown of Caracas, goes to the United Nations and calls President Bush "the devil."

Correa, a friend of Chavez and the leftist front-runner in the Oct. 15 presidential elections in Ecuador, says Chavez insulted the devil with his remarks.

"For that comparison, the devil should be really offended," Correa told a local television station, according to a Reuters story.

Arroz Con Frijoles

Via Cuban Democratic Directorate come these tasty morsels of Cuba-related information:

(Click on the headlines for more.)

International organizations condemn human rights violations in Cuba at United Nations

GENEVA, September 26, 2006, Cuban Democratic Directorate – Representatives of international NGO’s condemned the systematic human rights violations in Cuba today at the second meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Their statements followed that of Christine Chanet, Special Representative for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the current situation in Cuba.

“On repeated occasions the government of Cuba has been asked to join the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as its two Special Procedures, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. The response of the Cuban government has been silence and its refusal to accept the mandate of the High Commissioner’s Personal Representative, whose entry to Cuba has been impossible. This attitude can be explained by the facts. In Cuba, the people’s fundamental rights are violated. There are more than 300 political prisoners held in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions,” stated Natalia Bellusova, representing the Liberal International.

And then there was this one ...

Cuban political prisoner is beaten

Holguín, September 23, 2006, Cuban Democratic Directorate – According to a report by Eliecer Consuegra Rivas of the Eastern Democratic Alliance, Cuban political prisoner, Digxán Ramírez Ballester, was beaten by guards at Playa Manteca prison in the municipality of Mayari in the Holguin province. The incident occurred on September 18th. The information was provided by Ahmed Rodriguez Albacia, an independent journalist.

“Ramirez Ballester was carrying out a hunger strike in protest against the arbitrary abuses of which prisoners are victim at the penitentiary when he was handcuffed and brutally beaten by prison officers Wilber and Carlos in the presence of José Ramón Matos Leiva, chief prison officer, and six other officers,” reported Eliécer Consuegra Rivas.

The report also states that Carlos Miguel López Santos, Fidel García Roldán, Elio Terrero Gómez and Ramírez Ballester himself are now on hunger strike in protest for this arbitrary beating."

Cuban political prisoner diagnosed with beriberi

Cuban political prisoner Manuel Pérez Soria has been diagnosed with beriberi, according to a report posted at Misceláneas de Cuba.

In the report, written by journalist Mario Hechavarria Driggs, Belinda Salas Tapanes, president of Plantados Until Liberty and Democracy in Cuba, said she had talked with Pérez. He told her that a doctor at the Combinado de la Construcción Augusto César Sandino prison had diagnosed beriberi after he lost considerable amount of weight and had fungal infections on his hands, feet and genitals. The disease, which is caused by a lack of Vitamin B, can lead to digestive upheavals, paralysis, edemas, and insufficient cardiac function.

Pérez "has not changed his attitude that he is a plantado until there is freedom in Cuba," Salas said. "It is because of that that I appeal to international public opinion, human rights organizations and all men of goodwill that they intercede on behalf of the life of this brave compatriot, who has only asked for justice and respect for human rights."

(In Cuba, a plantado is a political prisoner who remains firmly "planted" in opposition to the Castro regime and committed to their beliefs and principles.)

Pérez has been imprisoned since July 13, 2005, when he was arrested while attending a memorial on the Malecon for the victims of the Cuban military's massacre in 1994 of more than 40 Cubans on the "13th of March" tugboat.

Pérez never has been formally charged with a crime.