Journalist That Told Cuban Truths Has Died

Saul Landau died this week at age 77 in Alameda, California.

       A University of Wisconsin graduate, Saul Landau was a truly great American journalist, commentator, and documentary filmmaker. He wrote 14 books, was a professor of history at California State, and for many years was a director at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington. Mr. Landau had battled bladder cancer for two years. His son Greg said he was working on a documentary about Cuba when he died. 

       Saul Landau is best remembered for his documentaries that took him to areas most journalists feared to go, such as the worst American ghettos or the most politically incorrect indigenous cultures of Mexico. One of his fans was a newshound named...Fidel Castro. At a brief meeting in Havana where Landau was working on a story, Fidel reportedly told him, "I like your work. After you leave here, what is your next project?" Landau replied, "I hope it's about you." Thus, one of Landau's most famous documentaries was 1968's "Fidel," which is still considered one of the fairest and most unbiased portraits of the legendary Cuban revolutionary. "At least," Fidel later said, "Landau does not call Batista and the Mafia nice saints."

        Saul Landau and Fidel Castro {above} were friends. Fidel admired Saul because, as he once said during a discussion on Cuba's "Roundtable" television program, "Saul Landau you can believe if he says something bad about me. I mean that. He is a filmmaker and journalist with the courage and integrity to present two sides of two-sided subjects." Indeed, when it came to the subjects of Cuba and Fidel, Saul Landau didn't overlook positives just because he was politically, professionally, and socially supposed to do so.

     In 1971 Fidel Castro's dear friend Salvador Allende {left} became the first democratically elected President of Chile. Fidel gifted Allende with an engraved AK-47 rifle. Landau and fellow filmmaker Haskell Wexler traveled to Chile to interview Allende and Chilean citizens euphoric about their democracy.

But on Sept. 11-1973 a U. S. - backed coup {above} attacked the presidential palace and killed Allende.

Allende had fought to his last breath with the engraved rifled that Fidel had given him.

For the next 17 brutal years, the ruthless but U.S.-friendly Augusto Pinochet was Chile's dictator.

This photo shows Allende's body being removed from his presidential palace on Sept. 11-1973.

So Chile has its own 9/11 -- the day Allende and democracy died in Chile in 1973. 

Like America's 9/11, Chileans this week in September are massively marking their 9/11. 

The great Saul Landau was among the journalists who best documented the bloody Chilean coup. 

          Perhaps Saul Landau's greatest work was his documentary entitled, "Will The Real Terrorist Please Stand Up." In that brave and historic film he interviewed the late Orlando Bosch {left, above} and Luis Posada Carriles {right, above}, the two most infamous Cuban-exile/anti-Castro zealots whom Landau and many others considered terrorists. In his documentary Landau featured Bosch and Posada describing themselves as "freedom fighters" even as they admitted perpetrating decades of multiple terrorism against Cuba. Landau documented facts many of his peers steered clear of, such as: "For half a century, small groups of Cuban exiles have waged a terrorist campaign against Cuba's revolutionary government with active or passive support of the U. S. government." In the documentary, which also featured Fidel Castro and actor Danny Glover, Landau criticized U.S.-sanctioned terrorism against Cuba. After Florida-based exiles conducted a bombing campaign against Cuban hotels to dissuade tourism, Landau explained how Cuba sent five agents to Florida to give the Miami FBI office details about the violent terrorist groups. Landau concluded: "Instead of stopping the perpetrators of terrorism, the FBI arrested five Cuban spies. They were tried in Miami and given draconian sentences despite a dramatic absence of evidence against them." Landau sharply contrasted the fate of the Cuban Five with the heralded protection afforded Bosch and Posada in Miami, giving him the title for his scintillating documentary: "Will The Real Terrorist Please Stand up."

      This photo shows Saul Landau {left} with Gerardo Hernandez inside the U. S. maximum security federal prison in Victorville, California. Hernandez is one of the Cuban Five that Landau believed were "wrongly imprisoned" to satisfy the zealotry of anti-Castro exiles who, he believed, dictate America's Cuban policy. The death this week of the 77-year-old Saul Landau is a massive blow to journalism and to democracy because both entities need the talent, passion, courage, and integrity that Saul Landau personified.

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Cuba's Tony Castro Is America's and Baseball's Friend

        Despite a passionate and effective plea from Cuba's Tony Castro {Photo courtesy: AP/Victor R. Caivano}, baseball/softball will not return to the Olympic Games. Sunday {Sept. 8th-2013} the International Olympic Committee in Buenos Aires, Argentina, voted to return wrestling to the Games in 2020 and 2024. Wrestling, baseball/softball, and squash were in the running for the lone remaining spot. There were 49 votes in favor of wrestling compared to 24 for baseball/softball and 22 for squash. Observers concluded that the combined efforts from the United States, Russia, and Iran tipped the scales in favor of wrestling. After the verdict, Tony Castro, almost in tears, said, " I want baseball and softball fans to know...we did all we could."

Antonio Castro is one of Cuba's best medical doctors and, unofficially, the island's best diplomat.

Dr. Castro is the 5th of Fidel Castro's nine children and he is a non-political but very loving son.

Like his father before him, Dr. Castro has an affinity for cigars and beautiful women.

And like his father {a former Athlete of the Year in Cuba} Dr. Castro is quite an athlete.
This year he won a golf tournament involving 18 nations.

But most Americans know Antonio because of his love for Baseball.
He became ubiquitous as Cuba's team doctor in Olympic and World Baseball Classic competition.

And this week baseball again thrust Dr. Castro into the limelight.

          In Buenos Aires Friday (Sept. 6th} the AP's Debora Rey {above} got a long interview with Tony Castro. He told her, "My message to the whole world is that our sport {baseball} forms part of the Olympic program." She asked him about Cuban-U.S. politics. He shook his head, saying, "That's not my role." She asked him about the health of his 87-year-old father Fidel Castro. He replied, "My father is very well, thank you."

      In Buenos Aires Saturday {September 7th} Tony Castro gave Pirate Irwin of Agence-France Presse a long interview in which he had these interesting and somewhat surprising comments: "This desire for the campaign to get baseball and softball restored as Olympic sports comes from deep inside me and my soul. Baseball is obviously my first love as a sport but I have become convinced about softball too as it ensures gender equality. Now I have a feeling for both. Baseball in Cuba is the pinnacle of the sporting pyramid, it is part of the social foundation with all the people playing as a team. I played as long as I could till a knee injury ended my baseball career, after which I became an orthopedic surgeon. For the social system, sport is very important in Cuba. This is my own work, not government work. I'm a doctor. I started to work in the Olympics from the lowest level, in the 2000 Olympics I was a docter on the Cuban medical team, and I have gradually raised my image. My name for sure is a weight on my shoulders. In St. Petersburg, Russia, in late May we -- meaning baseball/softball taken as one sport -- were one of the three sports to make the shortlist. However, even if we don't make the final cut on Sunday the world will not end for us. We will continue working because it is about globalising the sport and convincing people that it is a game worth playing. There are 65 million playing it around the world, there are 140 federations and 4 million junior leagues. The last World Baseball Championship was broadcast in over 200 countries. I enjoy this campaign. It is voluntary work for me and is to do with my love and my strong feelings for the sport. There is a lot of energy within me to see this through."

       This AP/Natacha Pisarenko photo of Dr. Antonio Castro was circulated around the globe Thursday {September 5th} as the AP, Reuters, and other news agencies reported on Antonio's Herculean efforts in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to get baseball and softball restored as Olympic sports. The highly respected Antonio is Vice President of the International Baseball and Softball Federation, the two sports that were dropped by the Olympics after 2008. Antonio is leading the effort to persuade the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which votes on Sunday, to return baseball and softball to the Olympics as one sport. "We are fighting for the dreams of more than 65 million boys and girls around the world, fighting for those dreams of so many people, and to be in the party that is the Olympics," Antonio said Thursday. He added, 'If we are in the Olympic Games, it would be much more than the 65 million participants that we have today." The IOC this Sunday {September 9th} in Buenos Aires will add only one sport to the 2020 Olympics and it is expected to be either wrestling or squash, not baseball and softball, despite the heartfelt plea from Antonio Castro whose diligence revolves around his mutual love of both baseball and the Olympics.

Jennie Finch has been making the biggest pitch, with Antonio's help, to restore softball to the Olympics.

        This photo shows Antonio Castro {on the left} with American doctors who admire the Cuban for his medical expertise, his friendship with America, his genuine humanity, and his passion for worthy causes.

      Antonio was recently in New York, where he attended games at Yankee Stadium, as an international promoter of baseball and softball. On Sept. 5-2013 ESPN featured a 4-minute report by Paula Lavigne about Antonio's Olympic mission. In English, you can see and hear his passion for the two sports. You can dial up the report on ESPN by Googling these titles: "Castro Fighting for Sport He Loves," "The Battle For Baseball, Softball In Olympics;" or "2020 Olympics, Antonio Castro Campaigning to Help Baseball Win."

ESPN's Paula Lavigne said Dr. Castro prefers to be called "Tony" instead of "Antonio" or "Doctor." 

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Thoughts and Reminders of Cuba

Congratulations, Diana Nyad!!

You Are, Indeed, A Champion!

       This Andrew Innerarity/REUTERS photo shows Diana Nyad walking ashore Monday, September  2nd, 2013 after her historic 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida! She is the first person to accomplish this dangerous and remarkable feat without the aid of a shark cage. It enshrines her as an American treasure!

This image from CBS News shows Diana Nyad swimming Sunday {Sept. 1-2013} between Cuba and Florida.

Diana Nyad is a warrior and a great American role model.

She said: "We should never, ever give up! You're never too old to chase your dream!"

Today's incredible achievement reached fruition on her fifth try in the past 35 years!

Uh, did I mention...she is 64-years-old!

One of Diana's goals was to demonstrate how close Cuba and the U. S. are, or at least should be.

This guy reminds me of Fidel Castro.

Fidel, after all, has lived precariously on precipitous ledges for 87 years and counting.

This right-hander, Vladimir Garcia, is the latest in a steady stream of Cuban baseball defections.

Vladimir is now a prospect for the Philadelphia Phils.

        And speaking of baseball, this is my favorite stadium. You see, I have an affinity for baseball, rivers, and islands. This is the Harrisburg Baseball Park {right side of photo} in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It's on a picturesque 63-acre island in the middle of the scenic Susquehanna River. The Harrisburg Senators, the Double-A farm-team of the Washington Senators, call this island home. Of course, baseball fans love it too.

Now back to the island of Cuba. These homes are in Pinar del Rio province northwest of Havana.

I think this bucolic valley is the most serene and prettiest spot in Cuba.

This gorgeous area is not in Cuba but it reminds me of Cuba. It's in New Zealand.

This tree, sand and sea are in Cuba, just outside my favorite Cuban city -- Trinidad.

My all-time favorite American is Sacajawea.

My all-time favorite Cuban is Celia Sanchez.

I wrote a Sacajawea biography. 

And I wrote a Celia Sanchez biography.

I think U. S. Congresswoman Kathy Castor should be the next President of the United States.

And I think National Assemblywoman Liaena Hernandez should be the next President of Cuba.

Each day on 4-wheeler rides in Virginia I see Goldfinches, America's prettiest birds. 

Which reminds me of the prettiest bird I saw in Cuba, the very tiny Cuban Tody!

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The Seven Best Books About Fidel Castro

{Updated: Dec. 13-2016}
#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Note: This biography of Fidel Castro was written by Jules Dubois and published in Mexico City by Grijalbo Publishing in 1959, shortly after the Cuban Revolution had overthrown the Batista dictatorship. It included feisty but flighty comments and predictions by Fidel during that heady period. Notice that he signed the book beneath a very coy sentence that translates to: "I think this revolution will last a long time."

#6:

Note: T. J. English wrote "Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution" as a novel but it is meticulously researched and, far more than most "non-fiction" books about Cuba, it captures the leading role the American Mafia played in the brutal fleecing of the island by the U. S. - backed Batista dictatorship, creating the Fidel Castro-led Cuban Revolution that so remarkably did something about it. Also, unlike many other authors, T. J. English understands and is brave enough to acknowledge that the ousted Batistiano/Mafioso regime in Cuba quickly, and it seems permanently, reconstituted itself on U. S. soil. T. J. English understands that the Batista regime fled Havana, landed in Miami, and then advanced all the way to Washington, riding the coattails of the self-serving Bush dynasty.

         T. J. English {above} -- is a 55-year-old Irish-American author and journalist famed primarily for his non-fiction books about organized crime in America, a plague otherwise known as the Mafia or the Mob. It is very clear in his "Havana Nocturne" classic that he profoundly dislikes Fidel Castro, which is his prerogative, of course. But he also indicates that he, even more, dislikes "Batista," "U. S. businessmen," and "CIA boobs" whom he very correctly blames for creating the legend the world knows as "Fidel Castro." So, T. J. English in "Havana Nocturne" tells you all about how: "Meyer Lansky and his Mafia minions created a paradise in Cuba and then watched el bardudo -- the bearded one -- trample over it."

#7:

          "FIDEL CASTRO: My Life" rounds out the Top Seven in the pantheon of the best books about Fidel Castro. Based word-for-word on audio recordings conducted by Ignacio Ramonet and published in 2009, Fidel in his own words describes the life and times of...Fidel Castro. He is unapologetic and candid, and less biased than most of the billions of words that have been written about him. Yes, it is a one-sided version of a two-sided Fidel but its truthfulness can easily be substantiated or debunked. And his words are indeed historic and they reflect the nature of a man who has never been afraid to fight for what he believes in or to speak the truth as he both sees it and has lived it. Thus, it is a very important book.

Now a brief review of the Top 7: 

Ann Louise Bardach is the author of the two best books {see top) about Fidel Castro.

       Ann Louise Bardach's interviews with Fidel Castro, Luis Posada Carriles, Orlando Bosch, etc., illuminate the multi-dimensional Fidel Castro better than all other sources. She captured the essence of Fidel Castro and pinpointed the enemies that created and sustained him. Anyone who is unfamiliar with Bardach's books, essays, and speeches related to the Fidel Castro-Cuba-U. S. triangle does not know Fidel Castro nor do they understand the U.S.-Cuba phenomenon. To not know Bardach is to not know Cuba.

       Julia Sweig's "CUBA: What Everyone Needs to Know" is the third most important book about Fidel Castro, especially the recently published second edition. Sweig comprehends nuances of Fidel Castro's life relating to how the legendary rebel has so massively impacted the United States, the world's all-time richest and strongest nation. For example, the Castro-led overthrow of the U.S.-backed Batista-Mafia regime in January of 1959 was not only an event that shocked the world but, more significantly, it resulted in the ousted dictatorship reconstituting itself on U. S. soil -- namely nearby Miami. While it is certainly politically incorrect to admit it, the U. S. now essentially consists of three powerful, autonomous governments -- the U. S., Israel, and Cuba. Sweig -- in "What Everyone Needs to Know" -- explains how that evolved. It revolves around the Bush dynasty -- starting with George H. W. Bush's CIA directorship, Vice Presidency, and Presidency -- that anointed Jorge Mas Canosa as the head of the Cuban-government-in-exile. And then, as Sweig explains, Bush operatives suggested that Canosa copy AIPAC -- the unchallenged "American Israel Public Affairs Committee" -- and form a similar government within the bowels of the U. S. government. Canosa did that with his Bush-anointed creation of the "Cuban American National Foundation" -- CANF. Thus, there is essentially a three-headed government in Washington, D. C.

These topics and pages in Sweig's book confirm that fact:

"Jorge Mas Canosa" -----------------------------Page 100
"Cuban American National Foundation"----Page 101
Radio Marti" ---------------------------------------Page 102
"Cubana Flight 455" --------------------Pages 60 and 84
"Robert Torricelli" --------------------------Pages 162-164
"Helms-Burton" ----------------------------Pages 171-174
"Cuban Adjustment Act" -------------Pages 89 and 167
"Cuban Democracy Act" -----------------Pages 162-165
"Brothers to Rescue Shootdown" -------------Page 169

       George Anne Geyer's "Guerrilla Prince: The Untold Story of Fidel Castro" still rates as one the Top Four books about Fidel Castro. Like Bardach and Sweig, Ms. Geyer is clearly not a fan of Fidel Castro but, also like Bardach and Sweig, she is fair to him and to history with her diligent research and unbiased observations. For example, Ms. Geyer clearly explains that Celia Sanchez "over-ruled" Fidel whenever and wherever she chose to do so. Most authors and journalists do not have either the wisdom or the courage to make such points regarding an individual and/or an event such as the controversial Fidel Castro. 

Fidel Castro is very important because he says more about the United States than about Cuba.

If you read and study these 7 books, you'll know Fidel Castro. 

If you don't, you won't!
And, indeed, it's time you got to know the man because...

...since his death at age 90 on Nov. 25-2016, his legacy watch began ticking!
So his legacy is still young.

With a wink, Fidel reportedly told this fawning fan, "If you liked my life, you'll love my legacy!"
In other words......
...the final chapters in the Fidel saga and his ongoing Revolution have yet to be written!

       I'll stick by my selections of the Seven Best Books About Fidel Castro for the reasons stated earlier. Other excellent books about Fidel included: "Fidel Castro" by Robert E. Quick; "Fidel: A Critical Portrait" by Tad Szulc; "Havana Before Castro: When Cuba Was A Tropical Playground" by Peter Moruzzi. Those three are excellent portraits of Fidel Castro and how his rebellious life evolved, but didn't make my Top Seven because I stressed the tomes that emphasized his and Cuba's relationship with the United States. I believe that Fidel Castro and his Cuban Revolution say more about the United States, the world superpower, than they say about Cuba, the Caribbean island.

Aug. 13, 1926 -- Nov. 25, 2016

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