published http://www.capitolhillcubans.com
It's amazing the low standard of reporting that foreign news bureaus in Havana exercise.
They will not file articles about the Castro regime's repression against democracy activists without multiple sources and confirmation.
And, when they do, they go out of their way to minimize and trivialize these courageous activists.
Yet, they have no problem speculating and creating all sorts of hype based on one sentence in the state-newspaper, Granma.
This weekend's deluge of stories about Castro supposedly authorizing athletes to play professionally abroad is based on one sentence in Granma, which defines a "high performance" athlete as one who:
"Meets its commitments to national teams, and has the possibility of contracting in other teams abroad, protected by the National Institute for Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER) and the Sports Federation, without being treated like merchandise."
That's it. Nada mas.
Absolutely no details or any credible information has been released about the "possibility" of Cuban athletes contracting professionally abroad.
But who cares about details, it's a great story line.
Some details, however, were released about Cuban athletes competing at the "highest levels" within the island and representing Cuba at international competitions (e.g. Olympics, Pan American Games):
Their remuneration will be raised from a whopping $20-$30 per month to $40-$50 per month (in order to "dissuade" them from fleeing).
Moreover, this will be done through a ridiculous formula based partly on their success at these competitions and composed of worthless Cuban pesos.
As Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez observed -- it will now take a Cuban athlete five Olympic gold medals to buy a refrigerator.
For the regime -- always apt at propaganda -- this it will now provide weeks of speculation and headlines as repression intensifies against peaceful democracy activists; athletes continue to defect and excel in U.S. professional leagues; the regime's violation of international sanctions (for weapons proliferation to North Korea) is exposed; and an American approaches his fourth year as Castro's hostage.
Same old strategy, same old regime
It's amazing the low standard of reporting that foreign news bureaus in Havana exercise.
They will not file articles about the Castro regime's repression against democracy activists without multiple sources and confirmation.
And, when they do, they go out of their way to minimize and trivialize these courageous activists.
Yet, they have no problem speculating and creating all sorts of hype based on one sentence in the state-newspaper, Granma.
This weekend's deluge of stories about Castro supposedly authorizing athletes to play professionally abroad is based on one sentence in Granma, which defines a "high performance" athlete as one who:
"Meets its commitments to national teams, and has the possibility of contracting in other teams abroad, protected by the National Institute for Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER) and the Sports Federation, without being treated like merchandise."
That's it. Nada mas.
Absolutely no details or any credible information has been released about the "possibility" of Cuban athletes contracting professionally abroad.
But who cares about details, it's a great story line.
Some details, however, were released about Cuban athletes competing at the "highest levels" within the island and representing Cuba at international competitions (e.g. Olympics, Pan American Games):
Their remuneration will be raised from a whopping $20-$30 per month to $40-$50 per month (in order to "dissuade" them from fleeing).
Moreover, this will be done through a ridiculous formula based partly on their success at these competitions and composed of worthless Cuban pesos.
As Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez observed -- it will now take a Cuban athlete five Olympic gold medals to buy a refrigerator.
For the regime -- always apt at propaganda -- this it will now provide weeks of speculation and headlines as repression intensifies against peaceful democracy activists; athletes continue to defect and excel in U.S. professional leagues; the regime's violation of international sanctions (for weapons proliferation to North Korea) is exposed; and an American approaches his fourth year as Castro's hostage.
Same old strategy, same old regime
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