Last night, Cuban escapee Jose Contreras won game one of the World Series for the Chicago White Sox. Contreras escaped Cuba in 2002.

According to reports, just mentioning Contreras' name in Cuba is considered a high crime, forbidden by Castro himself. Despite that fact, thousands of Cubans were planning on watching the game where they could get illegal signals, and on radios that would be illegally turned to the stations that carried the game.

Even Contreras' own brother, who is constantly being watched by Castro's secret police was alleged to have escaped from their perview via horseback, cross country, to a location somewhere unknown, where a friend had a contraband radio that would allow them to listen to the game, and allow him to hear how his brother was doing.

If Cuba, and this mentality by Castro, is something we should accept openly in the free world, I find something wrong with that picture. Most countries are happy to see their young people do well.

Even Chavez, who is considered an "enemy" by our present White House administration, has stated how happy he is for their native born citizen Ozzie Guillen who is the Manager of the Chicago White Sox, and a man who has helped to restore respect to not only the White Sox, and Chicago, but to his compatriats at home.

Castro is a loser, whose rule is through force, fear, and complete brain-washing of the populace of his nation, and we, in the US, are being told that we're fools for not welcoming him into free world enterprise?

I think it is nations that support this ego-maniac and his non-working Communist dictatorship that better open their eyes. This man does not represent anything in this world that would be considered good.

Viva Contreras! You do us all proud! Screw Castro! He's just another Communist loser that the world would be better off without. Expect the statues of him to be torn down after he dies and there's a revolution. In the end, his grave may even be desecrated, because he's despised that much, even in Cuba.

Wolf

Excellent post, Wolf! Great news for Jose and the White Sox team.

I am sure Fidel is having his usual fit. He probably will take it out on some poor Cuban group. Let's see he's already incarcerated the librarians and the reporters without borders, the White Ladies(wives and mothers of political prisoners), the Varela group, a group of intellectuals who were encouraged by the EU to develop a socialist transition, he's running out of Cubans!

Viva Wolf!

I remember a few years ago I met a young cuban lady while I was waiting to enter the Spanish consulate in Mexico City. She was soooo pro-Castro I couldn't believe it. She told me that, yes, Cubans where lacking many things but that Cuba was a nice place to live at and that Castro was not as bad as pictured by the international media. I just couldn't believe it. There's Cubans that actually like Castro. In her particular case, it was real suprise since she was of european descent. And as far as I know european families living in Cuba when Castro got power lost all of their property and money. Is this common among cuban people?

BTW, do you know that Castro is Gallego? He is son of Spaniard and consequently entitled to Spanish citizenship. His father was from a town in Galicia. I suppose he will never claim his Spanish citizenship. Actually, once in power, Castro visited his father's town in Spain.

Keep in mind that Cuba has a communist party made up of about 1% of the population. There is no shortage for these people. If you are a member of the Partido, you get to travel to Italia, Mexico, just about anywhere you like.

You also have a lifestyle that includes all the accouterments of wealth. Many party members have multiple homes. Our family, had a house in Varadero Beach, which was appropriated by the local Partido boss, without any remuneration. His family even took my toys!

But, few, very few Cubans are allowed into this hallowed group. Also, you don't see many Cubans of African descent as party members.

jabch writes: I believe Castro's people are from a small town in A'Corunha Province (Betances, or nearby, I believe). On an earlier post I wrote that I had coincided with Fidel Castro on a 1992 visit to Galicia. I'm not sure if he was given 'Head of State' honors by Manuel de Fraga y Iribarne but it seemed to me that whatever reception he was given was very low key. The only way I knew about it was from reading Faro de Vigo.

Booklady: now everything makes sense. I asked that lady how she managed to travel to Mexico, considering that most Cubans aren't allowed to leave the island. She said that Cubans were "free" to travel to any place. That you only apply for a permit from the government and as soon it is issued you can leave. I suppose those travel permits are only granted to a few families. And yes she was very european looking, blond, blue eyes.

Eddie: I think Castro just visited Spain again for some kind of Iberoamerica meeting. I suppose there's so many people in Spain that don't like Castro, that the Spanish government has to keep his visits as a very low key events.

I was wondering about that too. My salsa teacher who is very "Cuban looking" said that it was OK for her to come to Finland when she applied from the government and she goes back for visits at least once a year but it's harder for her Finnish husband who won't get a permit to stay in Cuba for longer than a couple of months so they have to live here. She was critical towards the government in general but said education and health care are very well organized. I'd find it really weird if she was a member of the communist party, is there some special rule that people with foreign husbands/wives can go abroad?

Many Cubans make the same references to Health and Education, but I still don't understand how this country can keep up with the rest of the world, or at least the western world, in health and education issues. Do they do their own R&D? Do they buy books from overseas or they print their own? Do kids learn about new things that have happened outside Cuba since Castro is in power? Actually, many school districts and hospitals in developed countries are struggling to offer students and patients good-enough quality services, how Cubans have managed to do that. This is considering that, as Cubans say, education and health services are good in Cuba. I wonder if they are just not as bad as other things in Cuba.

For those Cubans fortunate enough to have a short wave radio, the U.S. beams a signal to Cuba via Radio Marti that comes from Delano, California. Also the BBC sends a signal, as does Radio Deutch Welle, from Colon Germany. Then don't forget that Radio Moscow sends a signal, that is loud and clear. So if our Cuban friends are able to have a short wave they are not totally uninformed.

Any time after dark here in the U.S. in your local time zone a short wave radio that can pick up 9820 on the 31 meter band can listen to what the Fidel wants the rest of the world to know about Cuba. Mainly left wing, commy, propaganda B.S.

Hello Pia,
In response to your question, your Salsa teacher may not be a member of the Partido, but she is fortunate to have married a Finn. This gives her the freedom to come and go at will. There are many marriages between Cubans and people from Europe and Canada.

Dual citizenship is a sought after attribute in Cuba. It's the only way non-party members can move about freely and help their family.

In Cuba the "haves" are in three categories: the Members of the Partido comunista de Cuba, those who may not be members of the partido, but who are family members of the members of the partido, and those that have connections via dual citizenship with another country.

In a free country her Finnish husband would only be limited by the purchase of a ticket, right?

Jbach,

If you look at the UNESCO Yearbooks for the 1950's you will find that compared to other countries in Latin America, Cuba had the highest number of students attending school. So Cuba did not have as far to climb as other countries have had to.

And if our former corrupt politicians had used the grant monies for building schools instead of their private swimming pools, there would have been even more!

As a librarian in a free country, I can tell you the difference in a liberal education is great. Here, and in your own country of Mejico, and Pia's Finland, a student can study and request materials for any philosophical undertaking he wishes. For example if he wants to learn about Hegel and Karl Marx, he can.

In Cuba, a student is allowed access to selected materials in the field of study he has been approved to study.

If a Cuban student wants to learn about the works of the capitalist philosophers like Frederick Taylor and Mary Parker Follett, or the works of Abraham Maslow or W. Edward Deming, Edward McGregor, and Herbert Simon, that student would not have free access.

An intrepid student would have to go to the "private" libraries. And as I said before, Castro is imprisoning (20 years) these librarians because they are spreading subversive capitalist ideas by lending these books out!