Today's Star Tribune printed three editorials about Hugo Chavez, Raul and Fidel Castro and the "Iranian Mullahs" (the first two are linked to and reproduced below). These versions do not show, however, the headline the Star Tribune printed above them. (The three editorials are taken from the Washington Post, the Miami Herald and the New York Times.)
The main headline reads "DICTATORS GONE WILD" and the sub headlines read "Chavez, Hugo, the Warmonger," "Castro Brothers, the Suppressors," "Iranian Mullahs, the Incarcerators." None of these headlines appear in the original editorials, so they are presumably the editorial position of the Star Tribune. Their basis for these conclusory headlines?
In Venezuela, Chavez (who, incidentally, was elected by a majority of voters) has taken steps to address water and electricity shortages, and there is a high murder rate in Caracas. "So few were terribly surprised Sunday when Chavez . . . appeared to declare war on neighboring Columbia" by telling his people to be prepared for an invasion. Never mind that seven new U.S. military bases are being established in Columbia, which Venezuela rightly sees as an ominous threat to its sovereignty.
In Cuba, the Castro brothers (also elected to their positions through the multi-layered Cuban electoral process) apparently masterminded the recent alleged police assault on Yoani Sanchez, the U.S. State Department's favorite blogger. Despite the ubiquity of cameras in the middle of Havana, there are no pictures of this "assault," nor are there any witnesses. Nevertheless, the story has swept the globe in the mainstream press and, of course, has been given full play in the Miami Herald which first printed this piece. For an alternate view, see the article by blogger Machetera at http://machetera.wordpress.
We encouraged anyone who is equally offended by the Star Tribune's editorial bias to send in a comment online or by mail.
http://www.startribune.com/
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CASTRO BROTHERS: THE SUPPRESSORS
Paz y amor. Peace and love. That was the message that 200 young people chanted in Havana last week while holding placards calling for "no more violence" as passing cars honked their horns.
Not among them: Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez, who was on her way to the demonstration when she and another blogger, Orlando Luis Pardo, were hauled into a car by three men, likely state security agents. The pair was dragged into the car and beaten black and blue in the head and chest before being dumped miles away as if they were trash.
In a Sunday blog post, Sanchez, who is walking with a crutch post-beating, summed up the "blame the victim" attitude that permeates after 50 years of dictatorship: "The dozens of eyes that watched as Orlando and I were forced into a car with blows would prefer not to testify, and so they put themselves on the side of the criminal.
"The doctor who does not make a record of an act of physical mistreatment, having already been warned that in this 'case' there must be no document to prove the injuries received, is violating his Hippocratic oath and, with that wink, becomes the culprit's accomplice."
With 1 million hits a month worldwide, Sanchez's "just the facts, ma'am" approach to exposing Cuba's reality on her Generation Y blog surely has the communist regime's attention. She has won prestigious journalism awards for her blog -- in Spain and from Columbia University. Her heroic work is known internationally, yet few Cubans know about the growing blogger movement on their island because the government does not allow access to the Internet.
At 32, Sanchez is among a new generation of truth-tellers, born into a revolution that has quashed every basic human right even as the Orwellian Human Rights Council of the United Nations ignores Fidel and Raul Castro's abuses of power. As Human Rights Watch noted after Sanchez was beaten, the international community should condemn Cuba's attacks on peaceful assembly and freedom of expression -- the "only country in the region that continues to repress virtually all forms of political dissent."
FROM AN EDITORIAL IN THE MIAMI HERALD
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HUGO CHAVEZ, THE WARMONGER
Hugo Chavez recently found himself trying to explain, in a live television broadcast, why Venezuelans should limit themselves to three-minute showers.
A national water shortage, the latest product of Chavez's "21st-century socialism," has led to mandatory rationing. There's also a power shortage, which is causing daily blackouts in large parts of the country. Though the country is deep in recession, inflation still runs at nearly 30 percent.
Then there is the murder rate, which is on its way to tripling since Chavez took office; Venezuela and its capital of Caracas now have the highest per-capita murder rates in the world, according to the U.S. State Department.
So few were terribly surprised Sunday when Chavez sidestepped those subjects on his weekly television show -- and instead appeared to declare war on neighboring Colombia. "Let's not waste a day on our main aim: to prepare for war and to help the people prepare for war," the strongman told his military leaders.
The bluster was taken in stride by most Venezuelans, who according to a recent poll oppose conflict with Colombia by a margin of 4 to 1. Venezuela's largest newspapers played the story below other news. Even the Colombian government's response was relatively low-key, though it talked about appealing to the United Nations and the Organization of American States.
We'll accept that this is just another instance of Chavez's buffoonery. Still, it's worth noting: This is the second time in less than 18 months that he has ordered troops to the Colombian border. He claims to be worried that a recent U.S. agreement with Colombia, under which U.S. Air Force and Navy units will have expanded access to military bases, is meant to facilitate a U.S. invasion of Venezuela. In fact, he has something to worry about: The bases will be used for U.S. drug surveillance flights, and Chavez is known to be cooperating with terrorist organizations that are trafficking drugs from Colombia through Venezuela.
Few believe that Chavez will start a war with Colombia. But in the annals of the region's authoritarian populism, stranger things have happened.
FROM AN EDITORIAL IN THE WASHINGTON POST
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For more information about the Minnesota Cuba Committee and meeting times: www.minnesotacubacommittee.org
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