Viva La Cuba.

"I kill a communist for fun" ~Tony Montana, Scarface~

That was a classic quote from the movie, Scarface. Tony Montana's character was a criminal in Cuba, and he had no love for Fidel Castro or his government.  He called himself a "political prisoner", but as we all remember from the movie, he was nothing more than a drug dealer and a murderer.

Unfortunately too many leaders in our history have had a similar simplistic view of the Fidel Castro government like the fictional character from the Scarface movie.

Personally, I tend to disagree with Tony's assessment of the Cuban leader, and I am glad for the president's historic trip to Cuba today. I have never understood the trade embargo and sanctions against Cuba for all these years when we were trading with the Chinese and Russians for crying out loud.  

I remember as a kid in Jamaica, listening to one of Fidel Castro's speeches, I didn't know a word of Spanish, but even before the interpreter told us what he was saying, I remember cheering my ass off. He was that charismatic.

Maybe it's because the man who I consider one of the greatest leaders in history, Michael Manley, had to turn to Fidel at a time when the American government and the West turned their backs on the Jamaican people, as we tried to cope with the draconian benchmarks for the country's recovery set by the IMF.

It was Castro and the Cuban government that gave Jamaica micro- dams, adult literacy, trained physicians ,quality health care, and innovative teaching methods that merged education and sports.

And, if that wasn't enough, it was the Cuban government and Fidel Castro who helped to end Apartheid in South Africa . It was also Cuban soldiers who fought alongside the Angolan people in their fight for liberation. 

Throw in the fact that the people who were in Cuba ---who didn't have a pot to piss in before the revolution--- look more like I do than Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and you can see where I am coming from. Afro Cubans didn't flee to Miami with their riches, because they had no riches.

Barack Obama and is family going to Havana sends a powerful message to those Cubans living on the island and to the world.

It is a message that is long overdue.

Now if you will excuse me I have a  cigar to smoke.


*Pic from AP.





 

The end of capitalism and "weave thieves" strike again.

These are not good times for capitalism. Protesters are taking to the streets here in A-merry-ca and all over the world to demand that the rich pay their fair share.(Where were all of these people when the IMF was putting a beat down on Third World countries?) And still, the politricksters who they have in their pockets keep fighting to protect their moneyed friends.

I just read where those communist in China have more people who are able to put food on their table than we do here in A-merry-ca.

"The number of Americans who lack access to basic necessities like food and health care is now higher than it was at the peak of the Great Recession, a survey released Thursday found. And in a finding that could worsen fears of U.S. decline, the share of Americans struggling to put food on the table is now three times as large as the share of the Chinese population in the same position.
The United States' Basic Index Score, a Gallup measure of access to necessities, fell to 81.4 in September--even lower than the 81.5 mark it reached in February and March, 2009. The recession officially ended in June of that year, but the halting recovery hasn't given a sustained boost to the number of Americans able to provide for themselves. The government reported last month that a record number of Americans is living in poverty."

And so they march. Six thousand of them in Times Square today.

“The world will rise up as one and say, ‘We have had enough,’” Patrick Bruner, an Occupy Wall Street spokesman, said in an e-mail. A news release from the organization said there were demonstrations in 1,500 cities worldwide, including 100 in the U.S. [Source]

Mr. Bruner, what took you so long?

Finally, on a lighter note. I have gotten to the point in my life where I cannot tell the difference between a weave [or wig] from a woman's real hair. (I think this is true of most men.) So obviously there is something to be said for a nice weave hook up. But is that reason enough to be stealing the precious strands of hair?

"Weave thieves have struck again, robbing an Atlanta beauty supply store for high-dollar hair extensions, Atlanta police said.

Thieves broke the window of Lexi’s Beauty Supply with a brick, but got away with just $60 dollars of merchandise, the store’s owner Travis Tipton said.
The break in is the latest in a recent trend of beauty store burglaries in which thieves have sought out expensive hair extensions.

In May, the New York Times reported human hair packages of the most expensive brands cost $200 and stolen hair is sold on the streets for as little as $25, with hair ending up on the Internet, including eBay." [Story]

Some of you need Jesus in your lives. Or at least a good hairdresser.

Hurricane Sam was worse

"January 4: The Us secretary of State, Henry Kissinger , left Jamaica , unsuccessful in his mission to dissuade Manley from supporting the presence of Cuban troops in Angola. Despite this failure, he assured Manley that there was no CIA interference in Jamaica, but did not add that the CIA station in Kingston had just been strengthened by the arrival of a new chief, Norman Descoteaux, a man with recent field experience in Argentina and Ecuador where it was thought other destabilisation campaigns had previously taken place. "

I wasn't going to post today. But as I sit here in the comfort of my Northeast Philly home, one eye on my phone, and the other on CNN, I am scared for my country, my family, and my friends that are down in Jamaica. Hurricane Dean is making a bee line for the country I love like no other. It is intent on a path of destruction and mayhem. I am not a praying person, but for those of you who are;please do what you do and send up a request to whatever god you happen to believe in.

I was also thinking about something my man Chris-that increasingly angry black man, and Princeton grad-said in the comments section of my last post. Chris waxed poetic about the poverty and lawlessness which is at times prevalent in the island, and the politicians there who far too often line their own pockets at the expense of the masses. I am here to tell you that some of what Chris said is actually true. I am sitting here lamenting over 260 murders in Philly, a city of 1.5 million people, when I know damn good and well, that just recently, the murder count in Jamaica topped 1,000. And Jamaica is a country of about 3 million people. And I am, also aware of the gap between the have and have nots in Jamaica, which clearly makes it a Third World country.

But I have to respectfully disagree with Chris about all the real causes for Jamaica's problems, because I think that I am in a unique position to address it. In the mid seventies, I was a youngster growing up in Jamaica. I lived through the brain drain and the flight of the islands wealthy, and powerful financial class. Honestly, my family could have left too, but we didn't. Primarily because of my father's commitment to his work, and his love for his island home. But I saw it first hand. The destabilization, the CIA supplying guns and ammo to the gangs of the opposition Jamaica Labor Party, and the IMF's cruel, impractical, and unrealistic demands on the Jamaican banks and its government.

"But field why would the U.S. care about destabilizing the Jamaican government and bringing it to its knees? Isn't Jamaica just a happy go lucky tourist destination where we go to hear some reggae music, and if you are so inclined smoke a little ganja every now and then?" Good question, but the answer is a rather simple one. Ideology. You see, the leader of Jamaica at the time, was a man by the name of Michael Manley. A man, who contrary to what Chris alleged about the typical Jamaican politician, actually cared about his people, and their plight. Michael Manley was; gasp, a Socialist! He believed that the islands wealthy class should pay more taxes, and things like literacy training, and proper health care should be made more affordable to all Jamaicans. He believed that Jamaica should work closely with our neighbors to the North, the Cubans. He believed that Fidel Castro and the Cubans, actually had some good ideas that the Jamaican government should adopt. He cross trained Jamaican dentist and doctors in Cuba. (free of charge thanks to the Cuban government) With the help of the Cuban government micro dams were built, agricultural schools were started, and many of Jamaica's poor actually started to see their lives improve. But alas, America could not have that; nope, not another Socialist country so close to our shores. Michael Manley had to be stopped. So what did Washington do? Well, not only did they, along with the other G7 countries and the IMF, put some draconian policies in place to control the Jamaican governments spending, but they unleashed the CIA and its agents like Phillip Agee on the Jamaican political scene, and they wreaked their havoc from a street level. What followed were political gang wars and fighting of unprecedented proportions. Chris, I know of what I speak, I lived through it. Honestly, it's what shapes my views of politics to this day. The term politics is a "blood sport" takes on a literal meaning for me.

"In Washington they just looked at us and said, 'No, no, no. Your inflation last year was 18% and we are not allowing you to lend to your farmers at 12%. You must charge 23%.'" That's what Michael Manley said at the height of his frustrations with Washington. His hands were tied, and Washington wanted it that way.

So as another hurricane goes barrelling towards Jamaica to do unprecedented damage, let's not forget another metaphorical Hurricane that hit my Island home about thirty years ago. With all due respect to the National Hurricane Service, I will call it Hurricane Sam, as in Uncle Sam. We still haven't recovered from that one, and it's effects will be felt long after the clean up from Dean is over.

Thank you Mr. Kissinger.