Cuba Shoots Itself In The Foot!

By Dealing With North Korea
{{Updated: Friday, July 19, 2013}}

         This Reuters photo taken by Desmond Boylan shows a deactivated Soviet-era medium range nuclear-capable ballistic missile on display at the La Cabana fortress in Havana. As a tourist attraction and as a Cold War relic, no one complained about this exhibit because it served an historic purpose.

      This Reuters photo taken by Carlos Jasso today shows soldiers guarding containers holding arms seized from the North Korean ship Chong Chon Gang at the Manzanillo Container Terminal in Colon City, Panama. That ship was known to have smuggled drugs and other contraband and thus was on suspicious watch-lists of many nations. Not surprisingly, the ship was seized before it entered the Panama Canal on a trip from Cuba back to North Korea. Obsolete weapons were discovered under bags of Cuban sugar. REUTERS and other respected news agencies are sending this news around the world: "Cuba said the weapons were being sent back to North Korea for repairs and included two anti-aircraft missile batteries, nine disassembled rockets, two MIG-21 fighter jets, and 15 MIG-21 engines, all Soviet-era military weaponry built in the middle of the last century." This incident makes Cuba look like a rogue nation and the UN investigation of the containers will be extensive and time-consuming, creating multiple anti-Cuban headlines day after day. It also very correctly portrays the Cuban government as acting ignorantly for these reasons:

            #1 Involvement with North Korea, especially a closely monitored North Korean ship, is stupid.

              #2 Cuba's excuse that it needed the obsolete weapons up-graded to defend its sovereignty is equally stupid because Cuba's only perceived enemy, the United States, has the military wherewithal to totally destroy Cuba if it desired to do so and no amount of Cuban weaponry, modern or obsolete, could prevent that.

           #3 The success of the Cuban Revolution and the longevity of Revolutionary Cuba both depended on two vital things: The support of the majority of Cubans back in the 1950s and the support of most of the world's sovereignty-loving people since then, as expressed yearly at the UN and by many admirers worldwide.

This North Korean incident will usurp much of that support.  

      The revelations that this North Korean ship -- the Chong Chon Gang -- left Cuba with out-dated Soviet-era weapons hidden under containers of brown sugar is startling. It is the clearest example of Cuba stupidly and needlessly shooting itself in the foot, apparently a result of the ill, almost 87-year-old Fidel Castro no longer pragmatically making and prioritizing the day-to-day decisions on the island.

      Ricardo Martinelli, the President of Panama, said that the North Korean ship was nearing the Panama Canal on its way from Cuba back to North Korea. Panama seized the ship because it had a reputation for smuggling drugs but parts of an apparent surface-to-air missile system was discovered hidden under the sugar containers. Martinelli surmised and later Cuba confirmed that the weapons were being shipped to North Korea for repairs and the sugar was to pay for it. It is also well known that a top North Korean general was recently in Havana and met with President Raul Castro. Also, several countries have noted that a Cuban airplane recently flew to North Korea. President Martinelli, who tweeted images of the missile parts, said the Panama Canal was for "peaceful transit" and he adamantly stated that it would not be a "passageway" for weapons of any type. Martinelli thus garners international acclaim at Cuba's expense. 

        In addition to letting down and disappointing its regional friends, Cuba's involvement with the North Korean ship is apparently in violation of at least three United Nations resolutions relating to weapons restrictions against North Korea. The additional and compounding stupidity involves the fact that the North Korean ship was well known to international anti-smuggling operations and thus any nation associated with that ship or anything else connected to North Korea will be closely monitored. So Panama is rightly praised and Cuba is correctly damned for this incident, a fact that most members of the United Nations, including Cuba's friends, will support. The UN has been Cuba's friend. Cuba just slapped it in the face.

         The New York Times used the above illustration Wednesday to reveal that back in 2012 another North Korean ship -- the Oun Chong Nyon Ho -- made a trip from Cuba to North Korea through the Panama Canal "without attracting suspicion." The last thing Cuba needs is North Korea-related headlines in the NY Times!

      For almost fifty years Fidel Castro amazed the world by protecting Cuba against vastly superior forces, including a brave defense at the Bay of Pigs in April of 1961 followed shortly by an alignment with the Soviet Union to off-set or counter-balance the threat from the world's other superpower, the United States. Exceedingly smart but sometimes reckless, Fidel often stood on the precipice but he never jumped off the cliff or allowed anyone or anything to push him off. He was too pragmatic for that. Anyone who has seriously studied him knows that this week's disturbing connection to the North Korean ship does not bear Fidel's imprint. He has always been too intelligent and too pragmatic to put Revolutionary Cuba in such a position. Paying 10,000 tons of Cuban sugar to a UN-maligned and tightly monitored pariah nation so it would repair and return an out-dated Soviet-era missile system? Fidel's methodologies would not have permitted that. He has long realized that Cuba could expend 98% of its resources on a modern weapons system and, to quote him, "It would be like a girl using a sling-shot to defend herself against nuclear weapons fired from land, from the air, from on the sea and from beneath the sea. Physical weapons in the girl's hand won't help against super-powered enemies. But a strong collection of friends, neighbors especially, could protect such a girl." It was a re-reading of that quotation that makes it clear that Fidel had nothing to do with Cuba stupidly shooting itself in the foot via that strange, unnecessary involvement with North Korea.

        Fidel Castro turns 87 on August 13th; and he is very ill. Many felt that, after his passing, only his legacy could sustain the Cuban Revolution. Now it appears his legacy will not be able to do that, not when such ignorant decisions as revealed by that North Korean ship are capable of being made apart from either his wishes or his legacy. The amazing longevity of Revolutionary Cuba equates only to Fidel's own amazing time on this earth. And that time is drawing short, perilously short for Cuba. After all, no one will ever replace him.

And by the way........

        This right-handed fire-baller, 26-year-old Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, recently defected from Cuba and by this time next week he will be about $60 million richer than he was on the island. He is in Tijuana right now where about fifteen wealthy Major League teams are vociferously bidding for him. Currently young Cuban superstar multi-millionaires -- Yoenis Cespedes, Yasiel Puig, Aroldis Chapman, etc. -- are leading the Oakland A's, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, etc. toward cherished post-season playoff berths. One scout in Tijuana expressed this consensus opinion: "After signing, Miguel will get a couple of starts in the minors and then become an immediate ace for a contender!" The American thirst for Cuban baseball stars has become one of the prime issues in U.S.-Cuban relations because of vast financial consequences.

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Cuba Squeezed Between U. S. and Russia

ONCE AGAIN!

     The ongoing saga of 30-year-old Edward Snowden has thrust Cuba into the chasm that separates nuclear powers America and Russia, reminiscent of the Cold War era. The U. S. considers Snowden a fugitive of the first order for releasing a batch of embarrassing intelligence data amassed by the National Security Agency. Snowden for three weeks has been holed up in a Russian airport but he seeks asylum in Venezuela, Bolivia, or Nicaragua -- three close Cuban friends -- but fears any flights on the way to those destinations might be interdicted by American jets or jets of American allies. However it evolves, anti-American and human rights organizations will champion Snowden's efforts to bring transparency to the operations of the world's great democracy. In the photo above, a typical sign featured in a major pro-Snowden march near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin resulted from international news that U. S. allies had dangerously refused to allow a plane carrying Bolivia's President to fly over their territory because it was suspected Snowden might be on board. That Berlin demonstration might be a harbinger of what will come if the U. S. is perceived as bullying Snowden or as a democracy saddled with shielding nefarious deeds. 

       This week Snowden held an international news conference at the Russian airport. Flanked by human rights activists he expressed fear for his future on a day U. S. President Obama phoned Russian President Putin to ask the old KGB chief not to shelter Snowden, who has considerable international support.

       This REUTERS/Desmond Boylan photo shows a crowd, including journalists and spies, at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana this week awaiting passengers from an incoming Russian airplane.

Russia's Aeroflot airline has five weekly flights from Moscow to Havana with this the most direct route.

      But this is the normal route Aeroflot planes take in flights to Cuba, meaning they fly over major stretches of Canadian and American land. Would the U. S. intercept such a flight if Snowden was on board?

      But Aeroflot does not fly into Venezuela, Bolivia or Nicaragua -- the presumptive Snowden destinations. Thus, Cuba is the logical transit point. But the island is seeking to improve relations with the U. S. and is a major U. S. ally when it comes to battling drug and human trafficking as well as recently returning fugitives from the U. S. over to American authorities. And Russia is a real big boy not as easily bullied as an island.

      The above photo was taken on February 16, 1959. It shows Fidel Castro signing the Instrument of Office document in Havana naming himself Cuba's Prime Minister. Standing to Fidel's right ready to sign was Cuban President Manuel Urrutia, a judge who had backed Fidel's rebel movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista on January 1, 1959. From Jan. 1-1959 till Feb. 16-1959 the U. S. didn't know exactly how to deal with the popular and newly famed Fidel. From Feb. 16-1959 till today, however, the U. S. has not been so undecided. Before and after ousting Batista Fidel considered a democratic Cuba.

After America's rebuff, Soviet Union dictator Nikita Khrushchev's courtship of Fidel fueled the Cold War.

Vladimir Putin, as head of the Soviet Union's dreaded KGB, also heavily courted Fidel Castro.

As strongman/President of Russia, Vladimir Putin courted/courts Fidel Castro.

A perplexed, flummoxed Fidel in April of 1959 listening to U. S. Vice President Richard Nixon. 
This was the pivotal moment when Nixon told Fidel, "We'll recapture Cuba within three weeks."

Fidel was never overthrown but a corrupt Nixon presidency was.

So, Fidel had the last laugh, or smile, when it comes to the Richard Nixon boast in April of 1959.

The impact of Fidel's revolutionary legacy will also outlast Nixon's political legacy.

In fact, Fidel's legacy may retard U. S. influence in Latin America for decades to come.

94-year-old Nelson Mandela is Fidel's dear friend.

Mandela is perhaps the world's greatest anti-imperialist icon.

Mandela quote: "Fidel Castro is history's greatest fighter for sovereignty."

For decades, the two men have stayed close and communicated often, even through dire illnesses.

Fidel Castro turns 87 in less than a month, on August 13th. He has many things to ponder....
...Nixon, Khrushchev, Putin, Snowden, Obama, Mandela. Many things.

Meet 11-year-old Latonya Clayton!
Today's Jamaica Observer named Latonya the top student in Jamaica!

       Latonya scored 99.6 over-all with 99 in mathematics, 100 in science, 99 in Social Studies, 100 in Language Arts, and a perfect 12/12 in Communication Tasks! Latonya attends St. Jude's Primary School and she lives in the inner-city community of Olympic Gardens in Kingston. She is a Caribbean jewel. 

Congratulations, Latonya, for being beautiful, dedicated, palpably focused, and SMART!

       And by the way, the Jamaica Observer daily features the world's best and most topical political cartoons. This week the government raised taxes on the island's taxi drivers. The cartoon above {Sunday, July 14th} shows a driver's reaction to the government official who, the driver believes, does things like that because he believes the majority of people on the island are cowards and idiots for putting up with it.  

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Jamaica Provides Unbiased News Regarding Cuba

The Ongoing Edward Snowden Saga Is An Example

      This Reuters/Alexander Natruskin photo shows Anna Chapman -- Russia's all-time most beautiful U. S. spy -- at a news conference confirming her proposal of marriage to Edward Snowden, currently America's most famed fugitive. After releasing tons of embarrassing U. S. National Security Administration material, Snowden is currently holed up at a Russian airport trying to secure a flight to Venezuela that U. S. jets will not force down. At the above news conference Anna backed up her Tweet to Snowden: "Snowden, will you marry me?" And she admitted she indeed had tweeted this tease to the NSA: "NSA, will you take care of our children?" Anna, now 31, was booted out of the United States in 2010 as a renowned Russian spy.

Shown above in Switzerland, Anna Chapman adds spice to the ongoing Snowden saga.

     If you seek up-to-date, unbiased news related to Cuba and/or the Caribbean, the Jamaica Observer newspaper or jamaicaobserver.com is probably your best bet in a era when good news is hard to find.

The best Jamaican newscast is "Jamaica Now" anchored by Heather Cummings.

Heather, perhaps the best news-anchor in North America, is also an international music sensation.
Jamaica, you see, famously sprinkles a little spice over its hard news, such as the Snowden Saga.

       This is the Moscow-to-Havana flight that many thought was taking Edward Snowden to the island two weeks ago and may actually be doing that this week. Rely on Jamaica for the best ongoing coverage.

       Since the London Guardian broke the story of Snowden's leaks of secretive U. S. government documents, the 30-year-old American has been Fugitive #1 on America's list. Now Russia is increasingly uneasy about his sanctuary in a Moscow airport. The Jamaican news coverage of the Snowden saga has been the best and, as usual, the sexiest. It's important this week if Snowden does fly to Havana, at least as a transit point. Jamaican media focuses on such highlights but also stresses the spicy aspects.

       For example, Alexei Pushkov, who heads the international affairs committee in the Russian parliament and generally is the first to speak knowingly of Prime Minister Putin's wishes, advises Snowden to accept Venezuela's offer of asylum and do it "pronto." But to the delight of the amused Jamaican media, Pushkov strongly suggested that Snowden "stay and marry Anna Chapman. Pairing them together, in a movie, would be great cinema!" Pairing them together in real life, of course, would enhance the movie.

      Anna Chapman is the splendiferously red-headed Russia spy deported from the U. S. three years ago. Monday's USA Today said that the feisty, flirtatious Anna "proposed to Snowden on Twitter last week." 

     Anna Chapman was such a knock-out that she appeared nude on the covers of Playboy and Maxim. Pushkov says: "Anna is now 31-years-old and as breathtakingly beautiful as ever and she probably knows more about secretive U. S. documents than Snowden will ever know. They could get together, compare notes, and then Hollywood could make a movie. That girl who shoots the bow-and-arrow could play Anna!"

      Pushkov obviously was impressed with Jennifer Lawrence in "The Hunger Games" and so were the Academy Award voters who made her the youngest-ever "Best Actress" winner. And the powerful Russian is obviously still a fan of the Russian spy Anna Chapman, accounting for a Jennifer-Anna synergy/fetish. 

Come to think of it, Jennifer Lawrence, now 22, does look a lot like Anna Chapman.
So, if Pushkov matches Chapman with Snowden, Jennifer indeed could play Anna.

Alexei Pushkov probably realizes that Jennifer Lawrence {above}, like Anna, is a natural red-head.

         Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Monday his government had received an asylum application from Snowden and it was now up to him if he wanted to fly to Caracas. There are five Moscow-to-Cuba flights each week but none to Venezuela and the flights to Cuba normally pass over U. S. land.

      Cuban President Raul Castro, shown above conferring with heir apparent Miguel Diaz-Canel, yesterday strongly supported his ally Maduro's decision but refused to clarify whether or not Cuba would assist Snowden's transit via Cuba to Venezuela. Diaz-Canel advised Raul not to worsen relations with the U. S. 

       Meanwhile, Mr. Snowden has many admirers around the world...and not just the renowned Russian spy Anna Chapman. The photo above was taken in front of Berlin's famed Brandenberg Gate as Germans marched in a pro-Snowden demonstration. But now it's up to Snowden to respond to Venezuela's invitation...AS WELL AS ANNA'S! Presumably his priority is Venezuela at the moment, but that's just a guess.

The AP's Franklin Reyes today took this photo of tourists admiring an old car in Havana.

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Can A Few Cuban Exiles Destroy U. S. Democracy?

Sadly, It's A Reasonable Question

        Linda Greenhouse is America's greatest expert on the Supreme Court. In four decades at the New York Times she won every prestigious award journalism could bestow upon her, including the Pulitzer Prize. She retired at the NY Times in 2008 and now, at age 66, she teaches at Yale Law School. Thankfully, she still writes books on Supreme Court topics and also still writes special columns for the New York Times.

      Linda Greenhouse gifted Americans this first week of July-2013 with a NY Times column entitled "Gitmo's Other Prisoner." The "prisoner" she referenced is President Barack Obama. As all democracy-loving Americans are aware, President Obama, for the sake of the U. S. democracy, wants badly to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, the port the U. S. stole from Cuba in 1903. Linda Greenhouse wrote: 

        "Guantanamo is terrible advertising for the United States; President Obama wants to close it and bring the detainees into the United States for trial and maximum-security imprisonment; and Congress won't let him. 'There is no justification beyond politics for Congress to prevent us from closing a facility that should never have been opened,' the president said in obvious frustration, speaking an absolute truth. What occurred to me is that he, too, has become a prisoner: imprisoned not at Guantanamo but by it. And still Guantanamo festers."

       When it comes to Guantanamo, the Cuban embargo, Cuba's inclusion on the terrorists list, and other aspects of U. S. - Cuban relations, Linda Greenhouse is correct, of course. The President of the U. S. is "a prisoner" to the dictates of two generations of Cuban exiles who still seek revenge -- not to mention money and power -- after the overthrow of the U.S.-backed Batista-Mafia dictatorship in Cuba way back in January of 1959. Other prisoners of that unfortunate situation include the vast majority of Americans.

         Katrina vanden Heuvel just returned from Cuba and wrote these words in the Washington Post:  

       "Is there a greater example of utter folly than America's superannuated policy toward Cuba? During more than 50 years corrupted by covert actions, economic sabotage, travel bans and unending embargo, the United States managed to make Castro and Cuba an international symbol of proud independence. Intent on isolating Castro, the U. S. enmity only added to his nationalist credentials. A recent visit reveals a Cuba that is already beginning a new, post-Castro era. That only highlights the inanity of the continuing U. S. embargo, a cruel relic of a Cold War era that is long gone." {Katrina vanden Heuvel; Washington Post; July 2, 2013}

         Katrina vanden Heuvel's question deserves a yes or no answer, so here it is: No, Katrina! There is no greater example of utter folly than America's super-annuated, super-stupid, and super-cruel policy regarding Cuba. Only political and/or financial benefactors of that depraved, democracy-smothering policy would deny that answer to your very appropriate question. 

                         In other words.........

..........America's Cuban policy,

designed to appease a handful of greedy, revengeful exiles,

has done more to harm the U. S. democracy

than anything else has managed to do

In the past half-century!

Or, to put it another way, it's obvious that...

     ...the political power and bank accounts of a few Miami-based Cuban-Americans are deemed more important than the sanctity of the United States democracy.

The President should lead his democracy, 

and not be a prisoner confined within it.

The U. S. democracy has met many challenges.

Greedy, revengeful Cuban-Americans are a challenge.

Maybe not in 2013 but in some future July 4th schoolgirls should define democracy.....

....differently than the schoolgirl above defined it!
Cuba in the 1950s did not deserve the Batista dictatorship; neither does America in 2013.

This Desmond Boylan/REUTERS photo shows two fishermen as the sun sets in Havana on July 2nd, 2013.

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