Monday, May 14, 2007

En Passant


I haven't been posting as often as I am wont because I've been fighting the enemy on other fronts. I wish that it were possible for me to discount all the garbage that is said about Posada Carriles on 100 other blogs and concentrate exclusively on spreading the truth about him here. But is is useless to resist the imperative of defending him even from his most harebrained detractors, precisely because unless their rants are checked the truth will never be allowed to circulate. The following exchanges are both informational (on my part) and incidentally humorous (although all my opponents' humor is always unintentional). I have reprinted all comments addressed specifically to me (I do seem to bring out the worst in them), but not those which were intended for others but which I answered by default:


Luis Posada Corrales has never been convicted in the United States or anywhere else of having participated in terrorist acts. In fact, he has been repeatedly tried and acquitted on those charges. Venezuela, which is now seeking his extradition, jailed him for 14 years without being able to secure a conviction against him. When civil courts acquitted Posada, the Venezuelans court-martialed him, but even a military court absolved him.

The rules of fair play obviously don't exist as far as Posada Carriles is concerned. He is trapped in a judicial Groundhog Day, when, no matter how many times he is acquitted, he wakes up the next day to find himself again a wanted man. In his case, we are not merely speaking of double-jeopardy, but quadruple and quindruple jeopardy. It is doubtful that any other man in history has been more accused and at the same time more vindicated than Posada Carriles.

Judge Cardone's ruling was a 38-page indictment of the FBI and Justice Department for having used every dirty trick in the book to entrap Posada on spurious charges. The fact that a judge appointed by George W. Bush condemned in no uncertain terms the administration's vendetta against Posada should be enough to convince anyone that the U.S. is acting in this case from less than honorable motives. What Judge Cardone stopped was a judicial lynching. It is good to see that in the U.S., even in the era of George Bush, it is still possible for an innocent man to prevail against the machinations of the FBI and Justice Department.

For his services to this country, which stretch from before the time of Vietnam, to Vietnam and a hundred other secret battlegrounds in the Cold War, Posada is not only entitled to asylum in this country but U.S. citizenship. Few living Americans have done more to deserve it than him and the law supports his claim.

There is another 80-year old man, who has murdered 102,000 Cubans over 48 years, more Cubans per capita than Hitler murdered Jews, who has never been tried for his manifold crimes, which include the world's first airplane hijacking, in 1958 (the plane was forced to crash into the Bay of Nipe, killing its American passengers).

Why doesn't the U.S. indict Castro in that 50-year old case? Remember, there is no statute of limitations on murder, and Castro, unlike Posada, has never been tried (or acquitted) for his terrorist activities which span his entire adult life.

If "FOX viewers don't know who the hell Posada is," then they are a lot better informed than most people on this Forum; for it is better to know nothing than to repeat lies and spew venom based on crass prejudices and unconquerable ignorance.
Manuel A. Tellechea 05.12.07 - 6:32 am


Philadelphia Kevin:

What have you been accused of in your life and is it enough to deny your civil rights, lock you up in "preventive" custody, try you and re-try you for the same offenses after you've already been found innocent, and subject you, in your ninth decade, to the unrelenting abuse of moral relativists and fellow travellers?
Manuel A. Tellechea Homepage 05.12.07 - 6:47 am


Wisdo[m]:

Are you missing an "m," or is your name really "Wisdo?"

In any case, you do exhibit a modicum of wisdom by calling for the CIA to be investigated for the terrorist acts it has sponsored over the years.

Would you also be in favor of investigating the DGI (Cuban Intelligence Service) for the terrorist acts it has planned or carried out on U.S. soil and elsewhere?

You do know that in 1961 Castro agents tried to place bombs in the New York City subways and Macy's Department Store in Herald Square?

You do know, of course, that the PLO and other terrorists groups have training camps in Cuba?

You do know, even though the MSM have done their best to conceal it, that several of the terrorists associated with 9/11 in fact had received military training in Cuba?
Manuel A. Tellechea Homepage 05.12.07 - 7:00 am


Professor Duh:

The goosestep is a march, not a dance. Castro's soldiers do a very snappy version in the May Day parade. Of course, Castro's aping of Hitler has been obvious from day one. Not only are many of his forensic mannerisms copied from Hitler and especially Mussolini, Castro even plagiarized during the Moncada trial Hitler's "History Will Absolve Me" speech to the German court when he was tried for his aborted putsch.
Manuel A. Tellechea Homepage 05.12.07 - 7:10 am


Brent:

Posada is not "a self-confessed terrorist." The New York Times reporter who claimed that Posada confessed to her his involvement in the hotel bombings has refused to produce the tapes which she alleges contain the putative confession. She has not been prevented by any court from releasing them, The Times has encouraged her to, and Posada himself has never tried to stop her.

Of course, she has never released the tapes of her interview with Posada because they contradict her baseless assertions.
Manuel A. Tellechea Homepage 05.12.07 - 7:18


TK:

"Whatever you think of Castro ..." Obviously, you think very highly of Castro and very little of those who would oppose his 48 years of unelected rule. If a tyranny of such monumental proportions meets with your unqualified approval, then what moral authority can you have to condemn your own country's actions against it, let alone Posada Carriles'?
Manuel A. Tellechea Homepage 05.12.07 - 7:23 am


To One and Sundry:

It was JFK and Robert Kennedy who first authorized the assassination of Fidel Castro.

Does anyone care to condemn them for it?

Ideologically speaking, Posada Carriles is closer to the Kennedys than any of his critics.

Indeed, it was the Kennedys who made Posada Carriles.

He is their legacy in more ways than one.
Manuel A. Tellechea Homepage 05.12.07 - 7:32 am


Anyone else find it more than interesting that we have two commentators with hispanic sounding names show up on this thread to defend a man who obviously had no qualms about killing anyone who stood opposed to his personal ideology. Manuel damn right I'll condemn either of the Kennedys for authorizing the use of tactics so contrary to what this nation is supposed to stand for. I'd also ask if Castro's rule is any more dictatorial and repressive than that of Batista? And Manuel tell me how Benezuela's judicial treatment of this murderer is any worse than the the treatrment accorded Jose Padilla by this supposed bastion of human rights.
donquixoteshorse 05.12.07 - 2:58 pm



donquixoteshorse:

I didn't know there were any quotas on Hispanics on these threads. I should think, however, that Hispanics (or, let's be precise, Cubans) would be welcome to voice their opinions on this subject.

Glad to know that you are not a Kennedy groupie, but you must know, of course, that many liberals will excuse in them what they wouldn't excuse in anybody else. I hope you are honest enough to acknowledge that as well.

Was Batista better than Castro? Yes. Batista ruled Cuba both as constitutional president and dictator (1933-1944, 1952-1958) for a total of 16 years. Castro has ruled Cuba without the benefit of elections for 48 years (and counting). So, yes, Castro is at least 3 times worse than Batista.

Now let me ask you a question: Why is Posada Carriles a "monster?" That also happens to be what Castro recently called him. If the much-acquitted Posada were in fact guilty, it would mean that he was responsible for taking the lives of fewer than 100 people. In his 48 years of unelected rule, Castro has killed 102,000 Cubans. And these, mind you, are the documented cases; the number will doubtless rise considerably when Cuba's killing fields are dug up. So, I suppose that being such a stickler for consistency, you will have no problem labelling Castro a monster, too. And the numbers show which should be the worse "monster" by your lights.

Now, as for Padilla. I believe that a Puerto Rican nationality exists distinct from U.S. citizenship. How can Padilla possibly be a traitor to this country when he is a Puerto Rican? And when exactly did he wage war on the U.S.? Simply by converting to Islam and fighting for political ends that are not consistent with those of this country does not constitute any kind of treason. So, yes, I do not agree with the treatment of Padilla any more than I approve of the treatment of Posada.Is this consistent enough for you? I only wish that I could expect as much from you.
Manuel A. Tellechea Homepage 05.12.07 - 5:26 pm


Mr. Tellechea,

So I guess that whole article was part of the evil liberal media conspiracy to take down a good man and protect their ally Fidel Castro. Let's see if I can get this straight about the denial. The story comes out. The CANF then freaked out (after all the article implicated them in financing his terrorism)... within a day or two they (the CANF) presented a video taped interview where Posada denied the story. It should be noted that they presented the interview even before the channel that recorded it (Channel 23) had aired it. When asked, a Univision spokeswoman (Univision owns Channel 23) admitted that CANF members were present during the interview. The story then changed and suddenly there were no CANF members present the previous confirmation had been a mistake. Maybe this all seems perfectly reasonable to you... it seems a bit convienient to me however. Posada implicates his financial benefactors, they don't like being implicated and suddenly the whole story is crazy bs and Posada denies it all. Now without getting too much more into the whole self confessed thing how about the copious amounts of evidence tying Posada to terrorist activities. Is the FBI part of this conspiracy to soil the good name of Mr. Posada Carriles? The CIA as well? Your smoking gun, the unreleased tapes, is weak at best. Reporters rarely will release such material to law enforcement. Also, if the New York Times story is false then why didn't the CANF sue? They threatened to, but didn't. If this story is baseless then the NYT has committed a huge libel and needs to be confronted on it. What I mean is that the Times accused the CANF of providing material support to terrorists. Does libel get any worse then that? Yet after the threat of a lawsuit nothing happens (that I'm aware of).I also was unable to find any evidence to back up your statement that "The Times has encouraged her to (release the tapes)". The closest I could find was the New York Times fighting to defeat the DHS subpoena. As well as numerous statements where the Times backed the story and pointed out that the reporters were assisted by many other researchers and the legal dept. prior to running the story.

Brent 05.13.07 - 5:23 am


Brent:

I hope you have read the 38-page decision where District Court Judge Kathleen Cardone describes in great detail how the Justice Department entrapped Posada into making the supposedly compromising statements which it then used to prosecute him on trumped-up charges, imprisoning him for 2 years for a violation which carries a maximum one-year sentence. Since Posada does not speak English, the Justice Department used a translator who mistranslated all of Posada's answers (changing even "yes" to "no" and "no" to "yes"), in effect providing his interrogators with the incriminating answers which they sought and which Posada did not give. Fortunately, the interview was taped and Posada's real answers were later correctly translated, thereby exposing the government's "fraud, trickery and deceipt," so labelled by the Judge.

I have no doubt that The Times reporter used similar tactics to obtain her spurious "confession" and will not now release the tapes because they would expose her to the same charges of "fraud, trickery and deceipt." Again, there is nothing preventing the reporter (an outspoken apologist for the Castro regime) from releasing the tapes if they back her story. There is no question of "confidentiality" because Posada has never raised any objection to the release of the tapes. Nor has The Times objected. There is no court ruling mandating that the tapes be released which must be fought on First Amendment grounds. There is nothing but the reporter's obstinate refusal to release the tapes. And that is highly suspect.
Manuel A. Tellechea Homepage 05.13.07 - 7:19 pm


got ANY referenced links to CREDIBLE information?or do you just spew misinformation as if it's TRUTH?some of us DEMAND a little more than just posting information with NO REFERENCEunderstand?
woke Homepage 05.13.07 - 8:09 pm

for instancehere is some informationWashington D.C. May 10, 2005 - Declassified CIA and FBI records posted today on the Web by the National Security Archive at George Washington University identify Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles, who is apparently in Florida seeking asylum, as a former CIA agent and as one of the "engineer[s]" of the 1976 terrorist bombing of Cubana Airlines flight 455 that killed 73 passengers.and here is the link to the site publishing that info http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB153/index.htm see how easy it is? it's called supporting your opinions with FACTSeh?
woke Homepage 05.13.07 - 8:13 pm


Woke:

Understand, woke? It seems to me that you are the one who doesn't understand and never will. Must I provide you with a link to Judge Cardone's 38-page decision? Can't you find it yourself? Try googling. It will widen your horizons though it will diminish your forensic bag of tricks.

Why don't you take your demand for links to the Democratic Underground, where that's the favorite device of those who can contribute nothing themselves to the discussion except their incredulity.

No, woke, it's the media that spew misinformation as if it were fact; and, of course, you never ask them for sources because their sources, as in the Posada case, are "confidential" (that is, secret and unverifiable) even when the reputed source is Posada himself. I don't have to prove that Posada is innocent. Even Posada doesn't have to prove he's innocent. This is the United States, remember, not Communist Cuba. Here a man is presumed innocent until proven guilty. And guess what? No one has ever been able to prove Posada guilty of having been involved in any terrorist act despite numerous trials over decades.
Manuel A. Tellechea Homepage 05.13.07 - 9:33 pm


Woke:

You are supporting your opinions with more opinions. Those links contain nothing but the baseless conjectures of FBI agents and their paid informants, who can lie and misinform the same as you. Unlike you, however, their lies and misinformation have been exposed for what they are. There can now be no pretense of fair play or justice in the pursuit Posada given the government's actions over the last 2 years, which a federal judge appointed by George W. Bush has condemned as deceitful and fraudulent.

If the FBI really did have anything on Posada they would have indicted him years ago. Instead, they bring an immigration case against him and can't even make that stick.By the way, it's surprising to see you take at face value anything that the FBI says. Are we to suppose that you also give full credit to its investigations of Dr. Martin Luther King and their allegations in respect to him? Or is it only when they aim their guns at Cuban exiles like Posada that the FBI suddenly becomes credible?
Manuel A. Tellechea Homepage 05.13.07 - 9:45 pm


Woke:

I visited your Homepage (Vietnam Veterans Against the War) and noticed someone holding a banner which reads: "Honor the Warrior, Not the War." Well, that's a lot better than calling them "babykillers" so your organization has certainly made some progress in 40 years. What I should like to know is why "Honor the Warrior, Not the War" doesn't include Vietnam veteran Posada Carriles, who besides participated in 100 undeclared U.S. wars against America's enemies?

And by the way, isn't "Honor the Warrior, Not the War" somewhat akin to "Honor the Mother, Not Motherhood." There are wars which are deserving of honor, such as Posada's 48-year struggle against the oppressors of his homeland. If tyranny were imposed on this country would you have acted differently? Or is capitulation to tyranny your own and VVAW's highest civic virtue?
Manuel A. Tellechea Homepage 05.14.07 - 6:28 am


"Here a man is presumed innocent until proven guilty." Manuel A. Tellechea
Hahahahahha. Unless he's a muslim you mean.
Wisdo 05.14.07 - 6:30 am


Wisdo:

So it is "Wisdo," not Wisdom. Well, don't worry, we'll try to get you that additional "m" before these proceedings are over.

I do wish that you would stop making assumptions about me. I am not the bogeyman that you would make me out to be. For the record, I condemn all efforts on the part of the U.S. government to demonize both American Muslims and Muslims everywhere on the basis of the acts of certain groups or individuals. And I am especially outraged by Bush's use of Guantánamo Naval Base (Cuban territory) as a prison camp for Muslims who have never been convicted of terrorism or anything else. I am opposed to "preventive detention" whether practiced on Posada or anybody else. Can you say the same? Of course not. There is no consistency in your position.
Manuel A. Tellechea Homepage 05.14.07 - 6:39 am


i see, so YOU are an ANARCHIST, eh? Well, you need to realize that the fbi does have the goods on this guy.....but let him go precisely because he is a former cia, rw, cuban exile, eh? That is the point.....If you think there aren't a bunch of folks in jail, even in detention with no recourse for doing a lot less than this guy, based on fbi and informant testimony, then you are being disengenuousthe question is WHY was this guy not prosecuted the only answer is he was an operative of the usa when he committed the terrorism it's called a double standard, eh?
woke Homepage 05.14.07 - 9:11 am


btw Mr Talledega The VVAW, is comprised of ACTUAL VIETNAM VETERANS, not a group of chickenhawk pretenders, eh? We came back from that disasterous FAILED FOREIGN POLICY for profits and spoke TRUTH to power....and in part were responsible for WAKING up the sleeping citizens who for 15 years went along with that disaster....I have no problem with speaking truth, sir. And, we war veterans are USED to being SMEARED unless we tow the political line espoused by those in power....Your continued smear of war veterans, while claiming posada also "served" his country is bullshit He wasn't serving the usa or cuba by committing acts of terrorism...eh? If Cubans didn't like Castro and communism, they would have overthrown it years ago....and if it wasn't a strong govt, they would have folded up years ago....especially considering the black ops perpetrated by operatives like posada, boycotts and embargoes Today, cuba supplies healthcare to it's citizens.....and has a lower Infant Mortality Rate (how the world rates country's healthcare systems) than the usa....get a clue and stop shilling time you
woke Homepage 05.14.07 - 9:19 am


Woke:

Wow! I've been accused of being many things but never an anarchist. Are there any real anarchists left in the world? I don't know, but you now seem infinitely more interesting to me for having levelled that charge.

The FBI does NOT have "the goods" on Posada. If it did, it would have arrested him on the spot when he entered the United States. Instead, they prosecuted him on trumped-up immigration charges, which were dismissed with prejudice to the FBI and Justice Department.

And whatever happened to "Honor the Warrior, Not the War?" Posada is a fellow veteran of the Vietnam War. Shouldn't you be honoring him rather than Fidel Castro, who sent torturers from Cuba to staff the "Hanoi Hilton," as attested to by a certain presidential candidate whom you probably also disapprove of.

BTW, why are you shilling for Fidel Castro? Isn't he a declared enemy of your country? Didn't he in fact try to have you and all Americans blown up during the Cuban Missile Crisis? What makes you sympathize with him rather than with the people he has oppressed for 48 years?

Cubans have tried on numerous occasions to overthrow Castro but have been betrayed or thwarted by the U.S. You have heard of the Bay of Pigs? Or of the Kennedy-Khrushchev Pact, where the U.S. undertook to be the guarantor of Communism in Cuba?

If you believe that Posada is an agent or operative of the CIA, what right does this country have to prosecute him if he was acting under its instructions and patronage?

If you believe that Posada blew up the Cubana de Aviación plane while in the employ of the CIA, why don't you indict the then sitting president Jimmy Carter, his CIA chief and Attorney General? Surely it is to them that the greater part of the blame accrues since they gave the orders? Right?

For the record, Cuba had the lowest infant mortality rate in Latin America before the Revolution and the 13th-lowest in the world. Today Cuba ranks 34th in the world in infant mortality even if you accept Castro's fraudulent statistics, which have been completely discredited by Dr. Nicholas Eberstadt of the Harvard Center for Population Studies. It is his opinion based on the study of the raw data used to compute Cuba's infant mortality rate that it has increased, not decreased, under Castro.

The only real "achievements" of the Cuban Revolution are the hemisphere's highest abortion rate and the world's highest suicide rate.

As for you, [un]woke[en], you don't need a "clue" but many clues, and even then it is far from certain that you could arrive at any logical conclusion about anything.
Manuel A. Tellechea Homepage 05.14.07 - 11:07 am


Tell me why lil aWol is borrowing billions of dollars from COMMUNIST CHINA, in order to give the richest 1% tax cuts?

Let me back up my facts with links...Infant Mortality Rates Rank...cuba=34/usa=36. The RICHEST country in the world has a worse IMR than a poor, third world, communist nation that has been besieged by us embargoes and proximity....splain dat manny???ya can't eh? it doesn't make ANY sense does it?

Your cia/terrorist hero was held for 3 years wtf was that about? protective custody?

Btw, if i was gonna investigate the cia black ops...it wouldn't be Carter....who was head of the cia during the ford admin?...

And I always thought it curious how the iran hostage thingy played out....how they were released 20 mins after reagan was sworn in...eh? a little too convenient imho....and that bush 41 had ZERO terror attacks during his tenure, while reagan had 8 and clinton6

interesting, eh?

http://www.geographyiq.com/ ranki...y_Rate_aall.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Geo...orge_H._W._Bush

Then too, since you are so well versed, or seem to be, perhaps you already have read this article about the bush family/'saddam/osama/cia banking connections? BCCI
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/50156/

Or perhaps you already know about the 4 generations of bush family war profiteering?http://www.georgewalkerbush.net/ ...milyhistory.htm

Have a nice evening....time for some pub singing tonight!!

Musha ringum duram da....
Whack fo the daddio
Whack fo the daddio
There's whisky in the jareh?

woke Homepage 05.14.07 - 8:58 pm


Woke:

Everything is interesting to you. And that's OK. The problem is that you try to connect all these interesting things together in one interlocking worldview. Or to put it simply: you would turn the theory of relativity into a conspiracy theory if you could.

Cuba and the U.S. have different approaches towards infant mortality and really cannot be compared in that regard. Here the most heroic efforts are made to save even the most premature or sickest child. In Cuba, where the regime does not have such resources at its disposal, or prefers to spend what resources it has refining its apparatus of terror, no effort at all is made to save such endangered babies; the mothers, in fact, are all but forced to abort them in order not to impact negatively Cuba's vaunted (and false) infant mortality rate. As a consequence of this policy Cuba has both the highest abortion rate and lowest birthrate in the Western Hemisphere.

What you are hailing is not an infant mortality rate lower than that of the U.S., but, rather, a State-instituted and enforced policy of eugenics, or survival of the fittest.

You, Woke, of all people, should be the last to endorse such a policy.
Manuel A. Tellechea Homepage 05.14.07 - 11:15 pm

http://www.haloscan.com/comments/newshounds/11959/?a=43966

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