Uncommon Sense

This will ruin your weekend

Interesting, I guess, especially the part where now, we have seen more of Fidel lately than his little brother Raúl.

But more than that, just disappointing for those of us who hoped the rumors were true.

Still, he don't look so good.

Which is good.

Cuban TV shows fresh images of Fidel Castro

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban television showed images on Saturday of convalescing leader Fidel Castro walking, reading the day's newspapers and speaking on the telephone.

Castro, defying enemies whom he said had declared him dead, said he was taking part in government decisions, following the news on television and making regular telephone calls as he recovers from emergency intestinal surgery in late July.

"Now that our enemies have prematurely declared me dying or dead, I am happy to send my compatriots and friends around the world this short film material," Castro said.

"Now they will have to resurrect me," he said.

The images showed Castro browsing through Saturday's ruling Communist Party daily Granma and walking in a sweat suit down a corridor to speak on a wall telephone in a clear voice.

They were the first images of Castro released in six weeks. His prolonged absence from public view fueled rumors in recent weeks that the 80-year-old Castro was dead and change imminent was in Cuba, one of the world's last communist-run nations.

Castro was forced to relinquish power temporarily for the first time since his 1959 revolution to his younger brother Raul Castro on July 31 after undergoing surgery to stop intestinal bleeding.

Cuban officials deny the leftist leader has stomach cancer, but have given no details of his illness, which are a closely guarded state secret.

Raul Castro, 75, has not been seen in public for three weeks.

Into the mystic

Just got back from a quick trip to Lowe's — well, on a Saturday morning, there is nothing "quick" about a trip to Lowe's — and while riding in my truck, this song came on the radio.

It's not as good as this one, but it's still one of Van Morrison's best.

Arroz Con Frijoles, 10/28/06

Hugo Chavez sees dead people.

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Cuba has told the Pan American Health Organization that it has the current dengue epidemic under control.

But Havana is still not giving any numbers, i.e. the number people who have died, that might describe the scale of the epidemic — a refusal to disclose that may reveal more about the severity of the outbreak than any actual numbers.

Earlier reports estimated that has many as 700 Cubans may have died recently from the mosquite-borne illness.

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Cuba apparently forces Cubans into taking jobs working the port on Curacao.

Cuba? Forced labor? Slavery?

I know, shocking.

But even more amazing is the reality that people around the world are slowly and quietly understanding what is happening.

The Associated Press reports:

MIAMI - In December 2001, Cuban officials abruptly summoned Alberto Rodriguez to a meeting at the Ministry of Transport and told him he was being sent to work at a shipyard on Curacao. Over the next three years, Rodriguez claims he and dozens of other men were held as virtual slaves, forced to work long hours for pennies a day in dangerous conditions.

Rodriguez, who escaped in October 2004, and two other Cubans who were sent to the shipyard say they suffered serious injuries, were not permitted to move freely in Curacao and were forced to watch videotapes of hours-long speeches of Cuban President Fidel Castro "extolling the virtues of the Revolution."

"They humiliated us. They exploited us," Rodriguez said in an interview.

Now, Rodriguez and the others have filed a federal lawsuit in Miami seeking unspecified damages from the Curacao Drydock Co. for what they claim was a conspiracy in which Cuba provided low-cost, forced labor in return for hard currency desperately sought by the communist Havana government.

"Curacao Drydock Co. knew that the Cuban laborers that the Cuban government provided to it were not free individuals but subjects of the Cuban totalitarian regime, who were compelled to perform the will of the Cuban state," said their lawsuit, filed by Miami attorney John Andres Thornton.

If the men refused to work, they could be thrown in prison back in Cuba or not permitted to get other work and their family members could be affected as well, Thornton said. Cuba also has agents in Curacao who keep watch on the laborers, which number anywhere from 50 to 100 at a time, he said.

"Forced labor is a modern variant of slavery," Thornton said.

80s flashback: Safety Dance

Readers of Andrew Sullivan say this is one of the worst videos of the 80s.

Maybe there's hope for me yet, because while yes, the medieval thing is odd, I have always liked this song.

It's kinda like my Halloween-time addiction to candy corn — it's not good for you, but in small doses, it will do you no harm.

And it's fun.

Press freedom prevails

Click here to enlarge

A Danish court injects some sanity into the fight over the Muhammed cartoons.

From the Washington Times:

COPENHAGEN -- A Danish court rejected a lawsuit yesterday against the newspaper that first printed prophet Muhammad cartoons, some of which depicted Islam as a violent religion.

The City Court in Aarhus rejected claims by seven Danish Muslim groups that the 12 drawings printed in the Jyllands-Posten daily were meant to insult the prophet and make a mockery of Islam.

The court conceded that some Muslims saw the drawings as offensive, but found there was no basis to assume that "the purpose of the drawings was to present opinions that can belittle Muslims."

Jyllands-Posten's editor in chief hailed the court's decision as a victory for freedom of speech.

"Everything but a pure acquittal would have been a disaster for press freedom and the media's ability to fulfill its duties in a democratic society," Editor in Chief Carsten Juste said.

The newspaper has apologized for offending Muslims, but stands by its decision to print the cartoons in September 2005 as a challenge to a perceived self-censorship among artists afraid to offend Muslims.

The caricatures were reprinted in European newspapers in January and February, fueling protests in the Islamic world. Some turned violent, with Danish outposts attacked and people killed in Libya and Afghanistan.

Muslims were outraged at the court decision.

"The dismissal of the lawsuit against the newspaper, which was expected, confirms the ongoing intention to harm our religion and our prophet," said Mahmoud al-Kharabsheh, an independent legislator who heads the Jordanian parliament's legal committee.

The plaintiffs plan to appeal the verdict, spokesman Kasem Ahmad told Danish radio, adding that he feared Muslims around the world would be upset by the ruling.

"Upset?"

We know what that means.

Malkin toasts the court's decision.

See all 12 cartoons here.

80s flashback: Cyndi Lauper

Much to do around the house this morning, so I will leave you with Cyndi Lauper performing one of her hits, and one of my favorite songs, from the 1980s.

(No, I do not watch Martha Stewart.)

Cuban priest is released from prison

In July 2005, Orthodox Church priest Ricardo Santiago Medina Salabarría was arrested during a protest outside the French embassy in Havana. He was accused of "public disorder," although he was never formally charged.

Cuban "justice" sometimes is unjust that way.

On Wednesday afternoon, after 15 months in the gulag, Medina was released, according to a report from journalist Shelyn Rojas.

While in prison, according to Rojas' report, Medina wore only shorts and a white T-shirt, as he refused to wear a jail uniform.

Rojas' story speculates that Medina was released after his wife, Katia Sonia Martín Véliz, made a direct appeal to a government prosecutor.

In notifying Medina of his release, a security official told the priest he would be returned to prison if he continued his opposition activities and advised that he consult with the U.S. Interests Section in Havana about leaving the country with his family.

Medina told Rojas he would resume his priestly duties, "and pray for the release of all political prisoners and their peaceful struggle for democracy on the island."

As a footnote to this story, journalist Rojas has been summoned this morning for a not-so-friendly chat with Cuban police, apparently to talk about why she should choose another line of work.

It's a familar tactic used to threaten Cuba's independent press into silence.

Most of the time, thank God, the cops fail miserably.

The faces of Castro's Cuba

Blog for Cuba reports:

Independent Cuban librarians Orestes Suárez and his wife Nancy González Garcia were attacked by fascist mobs under the direction of the dictatorial regime in Cuba. Just for the "crime" of providing uncensored books to their fellow citizens.

Read more at Real Cuba.

Cuba examines socialism for flaws

Let's see. Socialism ...

Is anti-human nature.

Breeds dictators.

Bankrupts a country.

Steals your money.

Steals your freedom.

Steals your soul.

This could take a while.

A picture game

Here's a fun little game.

Start by going here, and spotting three differences between the photos of a ship sailing on a river.

Warning: Playing may be stressful.

(H/T to Amy Proctor.)