Wet Foot/Dry Foot, Nazi Executioners

It is despicable that the United States Coast Guard contributed to the death of Cuban political refugee Anay Machado Gonzalez. While the Castro regime has ultimate responsibility for creating a climate that forces Cubans to risk their lives in order to realize freedom and their basic human rights, the USCG is collaborating with a totalitarian state and directly contributing to the imprisonment, torture and in some cases - death - of would-be political refugees.

The United States has a responsibility to support Cubans, just as we welcomed East Berliners fleeing Soviet persecution. However, it seems that the Coast Guard will continue to ape Nazi executioners, and just "follow orders" without regard to ethics or morality as they attack defenseless men, women and children who escape Castro's tyranny.

To think that my own countrymen might kill my Cuban wife were she to take to the high seas in a bid to join me here in the USA (since Cuba prevents the free, unhindered movement of its own citizens) is equal parts immoral, horrifying and tragic.

Our government’s Wet-Foot/Dry-Foot policy, which applies a double-standard to Cubans, is fundamentally flawed, wicked, and simply wrong. Cubans escaping Castro's tyranny who are discovered on the high seas by the US Coast Guard deserve to be treated like the people they are - political refugees from a despotic regime, and not drug traffickers, terrorists or economic migrants.

Salsa Spins Beyond Its Roots

"While salsa is experiencing a revival in popular culture, the dance form has largely disappeared from the New York clubs where it was born..."

Complete article: Salsa Spins Beyond Its Roots, By JULIE BLOOM

The Teflon Peloton

From the New York Times article written by Juliet Macur:

Three top riders were kicked out of the Tour this year because of failed drug tests or suspicions of avoiding anti-doping officials. Those transgressions may seem puzzling, considering they were brought to light at cycling's most scrutinized event, where both urine and blood are screened for performance-enhancing drugs. The cheaters have not been scared off.

The riders who dope are taking a calculated risk, and the odds may be in their favor. Only the race leader, the stage winner and two or three riders selected at random are tested every stage of the Tour, leaving most of the field of about 200 untested.

Daniel Gilbert, a psychology professor at Harvard University, said the recent failed drug tests should lead one to believe that there is much more cheating in cycling than is known. The cyclists must know something that the general public does not: that more riders - perhaps many more - are able to avoid detection than are caught.

"These guys may be able to get jobs as economists," he said. "They may be thinking very logically about their decisions."

"They may be immoral, but they are not necessarily stupid," Gilbert said. "Why would they put everything on the line for such a small possibility that they would get away with this? Well, who said the possibility was small? It might not be small at all."

“When a rider tests positive, it’s like Stalinist Russia,” Joe Papp said. “You are taken off the Web site, your paycheck stops coming, the team just washes its hands of you. The team goes on, and there is no motivation, outside their own morality and ethics, to stamp out doping. But they still expect you to keep quiet about everything.”

Complete article HERE.

International Herald Tribune Version HERE.

SRAM Giro Commercial

Mi manco Italia.

USCG = Nazi executioners?

I think it is despicable that the United States Coast Guard contributed to the death of Cuban political refugee Anay Machado Gonzalez (see this Wall Street Journal article). While the Castro regime has ultimate responsibility for creating a climate that forces Cubans to risk their lives to escape to the United States in order to realize freedom and basic human rights, the USCG is collaborating with a totalitarian state and DIRECTLY contributing to the imprisonment, torture and in some cases - DEATH - of would-be political refugees.

To quote the Journal:

"While the law offers permanent escape to Cubans who make it here, current terrorism policies compel agents to stop migrants almost any way they can. High-speed boat chases at speeds over 45 miles an hour in rough seas are commonplace. Many chases now end with federal agents firing live ammunition -- a technique developed for drug traffickers -- at boats filled with migrants."

The US Congress and Bush administration have a functional responsibility to eliminate the wet foot/dry foot policy that applies a senseless double-standard toward Cuban political refugees, but it is the USCG that act like a group of Nazi executioners, just “following orders” without regard to ethics or morality when they attack defenseless men, women and children who are fleeing Castro’s tyranny.

Positive Mental Attitude/PHYSICAL BODY

IT YOU HAVEN’T THE WILLPOWER TO KEEP YOUR PHYSICAL BODY IN REPAIR, YOU ALSO LACK THE POWER OF WILL TO MAINTAIN A POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE IN OTHER IMPORTANT CIRCUMSTANCES THAT CONTROL YOUR LIFE.

A Positive Mental Attitude is not developed in a single decision to replace negative thoughts with their positive equivalent. It is a sustained commitment that requires personal discipline, the same kind of discipline that is required to stay in shape and maintain your physical health. It is a commitment that must be reinforced daily, or it is soon forgotten and cast upon the scrap heap of good intentions. When you take charge of your fate and determine that you will live positively in every aspect of your life-physical and mental-you will receive an extra benefit. Positive physical conditioning will reinforce your Positive Mental Attitude, and your positive attitude will help you stay in better physical condition.

This positive message is brought to you by the Napoleon Hill Foundation. Visit them at http://www.naphill.org.