who invited Pardo Lazo to participate in a conference by phone.

Check out this blog post and see how right wing he is.. Pardo Lazo probably doesn't realize and I think Yoani doesn't always get the game -- they are victims of right wing manipulation fueled by USAID and other dirty money.

I don't know what Pardo Lazo's problem is but he seems to have a personality disorder combined with an understandable frustration. The problem is he doesn't understand how US Cuba politics work, and ends up a victim


I'm putting Trotti's ass kissing comments about Romney here in case he decides to delete later:

Un Día Difícil para los demócratas

El discurso de Mitt Romney el jueves durante la Convención Republicana fue muy bueno, especialmente porque mas allá de señalar que el presidente Barack Obama no ha cumplido con sus promesas de campaña en materia de economía, producción y empleos, lo que ha creado fue divisiones y polarización en el país. Pero mas allá de su buen discurso, de lo poco entendido que fue el de Clint Eastwood, de lo inexpresivo del de Paul Ryan y de las exhortaciones patrióticas del senador cubano florida no Marco Rubio, la Convención pronto caerá presa de la Demócrata que seguramente tendrá mucha fuerza para seguir machacando los errores y las culpas pasadas de los republicanos, ergo, la presidencia de George W. Bush. Sin embargo, nadie se esperaba que un hecho tan impensado podria hacer trastabillar políticamente a los demócratas, como es la aparición este martes del libro Un Dia difícil del Navy Seal, Mark Owen, según su nombre ficticio, quien desdice las afirmaciones del presidente Obama sobre como fue muerto Osama bien Laden. Bajo su nombre real, Matt Bissonette, el soldado relata en su libro, ya todo un best seller antes de su aparición, que Bin Laden fue herido de un tiro en la cabeza. Luego rematado en el piso, y no tras un intenso forcejeo de 40 minutos como desde el primer día, dijo el gobierno estadounidense. La demanda del Pentágono no se hará esperar y le seguirá a este caso una dura controversia sobre libertad de expresión y la confidencialidad que deben mantener los militares, así como también los periodistas, ya que el hecho de que la cadena Fox haya establecido la verdadera identidad del escritor-soldado, resulto en una andanada de amenazas de muerte proveniente de sectores radicales y terroristas. Aunque el autor del libro deijo que no tiene motivaciones políticas, el hecho de que este apareciendo este martes, obviamente No deja dudas, de que estará provocando muchas reacciones y respuestas de Obama y su entorno, que hubieran preferido estar atacando a Romney y su pasado de empresario.

I don't think money is the motivation for these dissidents to write what they do, if they wanted money they could just leave the island and make all sorts of money that way. I think they do believe what they want.

The right wing will of course try to co-opt any movement (we saw it with Occupy for example), that does not detract from the dissidents actions unless you allow indirect 'support' to harm them. Most dissidents, such as Luis, would denounce Ricardo.

For what it's worth Ricardo thinks that Luis was detained to keep him from going to a conference. I myself personally do not think that was the reason.

http://knightcenter.utexas.edu/en/node/11273

I think they are paranoids, or pretend paranoids. It's not the first time I've
read weird things from this guy. Yoani still pushes the lies about Paya and
the mystery car. She wouldn't do that if she wasn't unhinged to some extent
because it's so illogical considering how things unfolded. However she hangs
with Paya's widow who can't see it any other way. Again, I feel sorry for them
but they're not helping in the truth department.

So what this means - the conference aspect - is that Cuba is clamping down
on the media war being waged against them. It's similar to what is being
released on Obama from Citizens United money. I do believe the dissidents
survive due to USAID and other funding, plenty of others have indicated proof
of that but of course it's going to be hidden so believe what you want.

text:

Cuban authorities detained blogger and freelance photographer Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo on Saturday, Sept. 1, reported blogger Yoani Sánchez in her Twitter account. She has also denounced the arrest on the portal Háblalo Sin Miedo, which allows Cuban dissidents to call a telephone number in the United States to leave a report.

After more than nine hours of illegal detention and a demonstration outside the jail by activists, Pardo and his fiancé Silvia Corbelle were released around 11 p.m. on Saturday, acording to El Nuevo Herald.

--
On Friday, Aug. 31, Pardo released a message on Google Voice to denounce that the Cuban police was surveilling his house. He also said that he was suspicious that the agents wanted to take him to prison to torture him or to end his life in a mysterious way.

With his arrest, the Cuban authorities avoided Pardo's participation in a panel discussion scheduled for Saturday, reported Argentine journalist and freedom of expression defender Ricardo Trotti.

At the end of June, the increasing number of arrests and threats against Cuban journalists, as well as more retaliation against members of the opposition.

As far as I know the conference panel went on so I don't think they were trying to keep Luis from attending.

If there is a "media war" it is internal and doesn't require outside money, as proved by the massive growth in Cuban bloggers over the past few years.

edit: btw, USAID is public funding, if there was evidence for that then it, by definition, cannot be hidden. It would have to be through some other funnel but there's simply not evidence for it and if there was the dissidents would be in jail.

and when pushed some would rather not take the money.

You're not doing your homework

...because it's "hidden."

As the CIA says, USAID is doing publicly what the CIA used to do covertly.

The bloggers have been left largely alone for the past 5+ years. And then this happens after Luis writes about Castro's health? Something is up.

Bank on it.

that's just too much temptation. That's why we see the regularity of these actions. If you insult El Jefe you will have trouble in Cuba. So that's one way to get a salary, for sure.

I feel sorry for them. The opposition is very weak, this is stated in Wikileaks cables. I don't think that is good, but I don't like the idea of people like Yoani and Lazo Pardo becoming spokespeople because they are naive. They don't realize who is who in US politics and that they ally themselves with the likes of Balart-Diaz and Ros-Lehtinen. Then as soon as they lay themselves on the line with a naive mistake those very players call them out as appeasers because they want a softening of the Embargo.

So that is why I feel sorry for them. The only solution is to deal with the government, the opposition is a joke for the most part, Elizardo Sanchez is perhaps the only one who is visible and not bought out.

I do not believe they are getting a "monthly salary" though I do think that they are getting their phones recharged from foreign entities. Donating minutes on phones for text messages and the like, however, is not particularly controversial.

The question is why were Luis and his friends detained? Was the reason justified? And do we agree with the justifications?

The question should be what do they hope to accomplish and why.

They cannot effect change because they are tied to right wing forces, Cuba cannot allow that.

They hope to get press and participate in the ongoing media war against Cuba.

The reason they want to do this is because they gain fame and position themselves as spokepeople because there is not much competition and they get money.

If they can disconnect from the right wing and USAID money I might be more favorable. Until then they represent a threat to my rights because that group in Miami is completely without ethics, much like what we see with all repukes these days, and they undermine elections in MY COUNTRY.

So this is not just about Cuba's problems, for that reason I distrust these individuals and believe they can do harm.

The solution is not getting media attention for this BS it's about solving the real suffering of the Cuban people. Yoani just adds her snark and makes a place for herself in social media, nothing much more to helpk solve anything, nothing sufficiently critical of the embargo - she might lose her $$ if she goes too far.

The right wing supports the embargo, they do not. The right wing wants property recompense, they do not.

USAID money as I said in the other post is transparent, public, there is no funding from USAID going to the Cuban bloggers. None.

There are some who are doing it so that they can get their exit visa for being troublesome. I don't know if Luis is one of those and can't know until he winds up in Miami.

But if you have evidence to those ends please provide it.

I think you are being really insulting to these individuals who just want to be free to organize without government intrusion.

The right wing pushes the same exact stories that they do.

Just follow the reporting of the Oswaldo Paya situation, Paya received 5 thousand from USAID front Republican Institute in Georgia, Jens the Swede admitted this, google any article to see this. That was illegal to bring in to
Cuba. Yoani was right there at the home of Paya's widow and tweeting the lies about the car.

Same exact crap was on the ultra right and right wing blogs.

Prove they are not tied!

Now we see Ricardo Trotti supporting Lazo. Where are the Democrats? Republicans all.

The right wing supports them because they are dissidents, not because they support their views.

You are a Republican yes? You communicate like a Republican or a right leaning Libertarian.

I do not lean Republican whatsoever.

Quote me "leaning Republican."

I sympathize with the Cuban dissidents.

You mock them and say, for example, Luis has a psychological issue.

You mock them with your paternalistic tones that they can't possibly be for anything without the evil empire manipulating them.

http://thehavananote.com/2011/04/senator_kerry_demands_accountability_usaid_cuba

Consider that you said Luis has a personality disorder, etc.

I only responded to the fact that you attacked me and lied about me.

You don't have the evidence that the bloggers are on the payroll of the US so you just slander the shit out of them and people who defend them.

her conspiracy theories are ridiculous, unfortunately she might even believe them.

You can see by what Luis writes that he suffers from paranoia saying that he thinks the government will kill or torture him. That's right out of the current playbook that is being used to confuse people about Paya's death.

Do you think there was another car that pushed them off the road?

Well if you don't then you might be able to realize that they are pushing the evil government capable of murdering theme, what I don't know is whether they believe it for real

They also think that the government stuck a needle into Laura Pollens arm and gave her dengue. That just sounds like bullshit, just like the phantom car.

Assange believes he will be extradited to the US and tortured and executed. I expect you will claim "no" because you think that he has valid reasons for that whereas Luis does not. Except several dissidents have died in Cuban prisons. And as we know from the Cuban dissidents who have escaped after their long prison terms, those prisons are torturous. So your apparent belief that the Cuban government is "incapable of murdering" is far off base, and the conclusion that Luis is paranoid (with a "personality disorder&quot for thinking that is just insulting.

Regardless, this is an ad hom distraction for the fact that Luis was indeed arrested and detained for reasons that you cannot justify, so you make up stories that Luis and Yoani are "tied" to right wing groups. And you fail to provide evidence that they are stooges or on the payroll of the US. Yoani could've left Cuba long ago when she had the chance but she chose to return. Some Cuban's who have left Cuba might call her "unhinged" for doing that, for sure. But I respect that.

The right questions are why was Luis detained? Does every single person who writes stuff that isn't kind toward the Cuban government have to be a stooge of the US? Is that really what you're trying to have me believe?

The Cuban government is not about murdering any of these dissidents. That is ridiculous.

Clears up your position completely.

on discussing Assange. Talk about a waste of time

I'm just pointing out a potential inconsistency. For what it's worth I think Luis and Assange have legitimate reasons to be afraid of arrest.

So it was apparently no big deal. You know the Cuba police are not like the CIA - they barely have pens that write, though they are very good at investigation. Chances are what happened was something local to Cuba that made sense to them, but you won't hear that from Luis, he knows how to play people like you with social media, so does Yoani. The Cuban police aren't sophisticated so they lose and the media just reprints the usual lies.

You don't have a clue about the realm he is in or the "dangers" in Cuba.

He shouldn't have been detained to begin with by those "unsophisticated police."

I know that something is amiss when Cuban bloggers who are generally left alone get arrested.

Although apparently not for a long time.

doesn't try to make Fidel's beard fall out anymore.

I am truly glad you get that!

Dissidents do die in Cuban prisons and it is not "a long time ago." Luis has every reason to be afraid.

good nite

As well as making up complete fabrications without one iota of evidence and hoping it sticks.

Have a nice night.