Claudia4Libertad

Real Women Fish

 

Governor Sarah Palin after reeling in a big one.

This is a woman who is not afraid to get her hands dirty- literally and figuratively.

Political Vida

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Senator McCain Announces Governor Palin as His Running Mate- Video

"Holy Cow!" McCain Chooses Sarah Palin as Running Mate

"Holy cow. I’m just kind of speechless on the whole thing," is the reaction that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's father, Chuck Heath, had when he got the news today that his daughter had been tapped as Vice-Presidental candidate by Senator John McCain.  I think that his words were echoed throughout the country as the news broke this morning. For some it may have been "Holy Cow! What is he thinking?!" and for others "Holy Cow! He's a brilliant strategist!" Either way, it is undeniable that by now Obama and his convention speech have been bumped from the headlines and replaced by "Who is Sarah Palin?"  "First Republican V.P. Candidate!" and "Now THIS is CHANGE!"

So, who is Sarah Palin?

• She's a woman, obviously.

• She's Conservative.

• She's Pro-life.

• She's a first-term governor.

• She's a member of the NRA.

• She was the mayor of the city of Wasilla.

• She was a councilwoman in Wasilla.

• She served as the head of Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

• She overhauled Alaska's ethics laws.

• She overhauled the process of gasline constuction.

• She is Chair of the National Governors Association's Natural Resources Committee (agriculture, energy, environmental protection and natural resource management)

• She created Alaska's Petroleum Systems Integrity Office.

• She's a bit of a maverick.

• She has five children, the youngest of which was born with Down's Syndrome.

• She has a son in the US Army.

• She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications/Journalism.

So, idealogically, she seems well-suited to balance John McCain. For feminists, this could be a monumental vote (except that she was in the Miss Alaska Pageant in 1984- feminists won't like that).  The caveat is her experience and how voters will interpret that. I think that she seems like a good choice but her lack of experience may hurt the ticket.  I love her personality and how she comes across, I love that she plays hard ball and isn't afraid of "the boys."  And mostly, I am very impressed that McCain broke the mold of the typical, white male candidate and chose a woman. I hope that the buzz surrounding Governor Palin as a novelty in the campaign reaches the same heights as Barack Obama's race has- after all, he may be the first African-American candidate but we've never had a woman Republican candidate before (Geraldine Ferrarro was a Democrat, if you don't remember.)

So I guess all I have to say now is:

The Big Round up- MSM and International Sources of News about Gorki's Arrest

Gorki's sham arrest to silence his music has led to more noise-making from here to Canada to Italy as the Main Stream Media here and big news sources in Europe pick up his story.  It seems that when it's a doctor to who gets arrested or a librarian, the public outcry is not as loud as when someone takes your rock and roll.  So thanks to Gorki's arrest, all eyes are on Cuba, waiting to see what they do with a man who has done nothing more than speak out against his government in songs.  (Madonna, Pearl Jam, George Michael and the Dixie Chicks better thank their lucky stars that they are not in prison.) Here is the big round-up of newspapers and other sources on the net that have covered Gorki's arrest this week- not blogs- newspapers and media-related sites.

I don't know how castro is going to get out of this one without egg on his face.

Washington Times

CNN

The Guardian

Sun Sentinel

Miami Herald

Fox News

New York Daily News in Spanish

UPI

Kansas City.com

International

Público.es International

e-liberal.net

Noticias AOL

Latino MSN

Univisión Noticias

Noticias 24

El País

Billboard en español

Diario Las Américas

El Universal- Colombia

26Noticias.com.ar

Contacto Magazine

El Periódico de México

L'espresso Italy

La Repubblica.it

Excite Italy

Peace Reporter

Other Members of Porno Para Ricardo Possibly Arrested in Cuba

This just in- according to Renay, the band's drummer, the police in Cuba beat the crowd at the Porno Para Ricardo concert held at the Malecon in protest of Gorki Aguila's arrest and they apparently have arrested Ciro Javier Díaz Penedo  and Hebert González, members of Porno Para Ricardo. That is not confirmed, but they cannot be located and it seems they were taken away by the police. Blogger Yoani Sánchez was able to escape during the brouhaha.

I will update later tonight as information becomes available.

H/T Charlie

Punk Rocker Gorki Arrested- Gorki Arrestado en Cuba

 

FREE GORKI!

 

Punk rock band leader lead singer Gorki Luis Aguila Carrasco was arrested for "pre-crime dangerousness" on Monday.  "Porno Para Ricardo," banned from the radio in Cuba, is known for its lyrics critical to the castro regime. Gorki was also arrested in June for the same "anti-social" conduct but was released after being interrogated.  Today he is said to stand trial and as of yet does not have a lawyer.

 

Curiously, the mainstream media has picked up on this story, maybe because CNN did a story on him in 2007. BBC, CNNand the Miami Heraldas well as countless blogs are covering this story, which can only help Gorki to get released as it puts the regime in a bad light in the international press.

 

You can read the account in Spanish from the band's website:

 

Free Gorki- cobardía y represión

 

 

"Hace pocos minutos la policía castrista detuvo a Gorki Luis Aguila Carrasco, leader de la banda Porno Para Ricardo en su casa, cuando se disponía a grabar las últimas canciones del proximo disco de la banda.

 

Ciro, el guitarrista del grupo, siguió al auto policial en bicicleta hasta la estación donde los esbirros de la dictadura han llevado a Gorki, que no se encuentra bien de salud, y que se disponía a hacer un esfuerzo para grabar los temas pendientes.

 

Gorki tiene una inflamación en los pulmones y falta de aire, y fue sacado de su casa por un policía que dijo cumplir órdenes del delegado del poder popular, un tal Jesús y sin orden de arresto, en el mejor estilo comunista.

En la mañana del sábado estuvimos hablando e intercambiando ideas sobre el diseño de la portada del disco y opiniones sobre algunos de los nuevos temas, además de algunos detalles relacionados con la producción de este álbum, el website de la banda y haciendo chistes.

 

Naturalmente, la creación artística independiente en Cuba se premia solo con persecuciones y órdenes de búsqueda y captura por parte de la policía de la dictadura.  

 

El testimonio de Ciro:

 

“Cuando nos disponiamos a empezar a grabar tocan la puerta. Gorki abre y desde el cuarto escucho, "¿Usted es el Ciudadano Gorki Aguila?" era un policia que le pidió que lo acompañara, el preguntó por qué y el policía le dijo que él solo cumplía órdenes.

 

El policía se dirigió a él siempre en buena forma. Yo los seguí al sector de policia y esperé en la esquina para por si les daba por cargar conmigo también y no quedara quién avisara.

 

Cuando se fueron me acerque al sector de policia y estaba allí el mismo que lo vino a buscar, le pregunté que  para donde lo habían llevado y el me dijo que para la estación de 3ra y 62 llamada popularmente la 5ta.

 

De regreso me encontré con el padre de Gorki que al enterarse se puso muy nervioso y fué a la 5ta a averiguar por su hijo.”

Esto no es nada nuevo. Como los aficionados recordarán, se fabricó ya una vez un caso en contra de Gorki, que fué arrestado bajo cargos falsos y condenado a cuatro años de prisión. En aquella ocasión se filmaba Habana Blues y el régimen mantuvo a Gorki encarcelado impidiendole de participar en la película sobre la nueva música independiente y underground de Cuba.  En realidad, el delito de Gorki es solo uno: tener los cojones necesarios para denunciar los atropellos de la tiranía contra el pueblo cubano y la ilegitimidad del régimen heredtario impuesto a Cuba.

 

Esto no es mas que la continuación del acoso al cual ha sido sometido Gorki por parte de la policía y el delegado del Poder Popular, que cuenta con la colaboración de vulgares chivatos barrioteros. Hace solo dos meses, el 17 de junio, Gorki fue llevado a una estación policial por el mismo delegado del Poder Popular, quien lo amenazó con la cárcel por su conducta “antisocial”, de un modo bastante gangsteril como quedó recogido en la la grabación clandestina que hicera Gorki de esa citación policial, en la cual tambien puede escucharse su elección de seguir con su arte y el rechazo a la pretensión del delegado a que firmara un acta de peligrosidad.

Este nuevo episodio de acoso y persecución  ocurre justo cuando Porno Para Ricardo se encuentra en medio de la grabación de su nuevo disco, lo cual elimina cualquier posibilidad de que este escalamiento represivo pueda calificarse de “coincidencia”. En Cuba, la voz de los valientes  es silenciada por el régimen, que no vacila en utilizar intimidación y fuerza.

 

Por tanto, y en consonancia con el clima de opresión que reina  en Cuba -según nos informa el padre de Gorki- lo tendrán detenido hasta el jueves, hasta que le hagan un juicio por peligrosidad y la condena que le impongan puede ser de uno a cuatro años.  Ese es el precio de vivir con valentía, pensar por si mismo, y de hablar sin pelos en la lengua."

H/T Charlie Bravo

The Ethics of Protesting

How do you feel about people protesting in America-- specifically at the Democractic and Republican Conventions? Bruce Weinstein, PhD, known as "The Ethics Guy" for CNN's American Morning show, sent me the link for his article at Business Week about the right way to express your right to protest and poses the question- is protesting unpatriotic? Or is it possible to protest in a way that is respectful to the group against which you protest and your country?  Or does protesting exclude respect?

Here's an excerpt and the link- what do you think about it?

"The fear that as many as 30,000 protestors will disrupt the 2008 Democratic National Convention (which runs Aug. 25-28) has led to preparations for an unprecedented turnout by federal and local authorities, according to The New York Times. The city of Denver has spent more than $2 million on protection equipment for police officers, and millions more from the federal government will be tagged for Secret Service, FBI agents, and others charged with maintaining law and order. It's possible that protests planned for the Republican National Convention, to be held in Minneapolis-St. Paul from Sept. 1-4, will be even larger and more intense."

Read more here.

Cuban Athlete Throws Hissy Fit and Roundhouse Kicks Olympic Ref

Has good sportsmanship gone to the dogs?  You would think that the regime would have trained its athletes better on how to comport themselves in the face of decisions with which they do not agree.  Instead, during a Tae Kwon Do match in the Olympic games, Cuban Ángel Matos was disqualified after he took more than a minute to get medical attemtion after falling to the mat.  His response? A kick to the face of the referee.  And that was AFTER he pushed another judge and spat on the mat. The committee responded by issuing a lifetime ban and erasing his Olympic record.

Read the whole tantrum-throwing mess HERE.

Former Cuban Prisoner of Conscience Speaks Out

Winnie Biscet, who is Dr. Oscar Biscet's daughter, asked me to post a video of her dad's friend, Raúl Fajardo Arencibias.  He, like Dr. Biscet, was a prisoner of conscience in Cuba, arrested in 2002 for disorderly conduct and contempt for authority and then given a sham trial.

Raúl suffers from chronic asthma and also has emphesyma, yet he was denied his medication while in prison, causing his already decliate health to deteriotate.  Yes, I know, Cuba send medicines all over the world yet denied this man what he needed.  Well, of course.  This peace-loving man is also a member of the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights (formed by Dr. Biscet) and a member of the Movimiento del 24 de Febrero, an opposition group in Cuba. This was the real reason he was thrown in jail.

He was released in 2005 because of his health (it wouldn't look right for one of Amnesty International's Prisoners of Conscience, and a sick one at that,  to die in prison, now would it?) and last year made this video which I include here.