I'll let these links speak for themselves.
From ESPN:
"'Historic' game in Cuba ignores the pain so many people endured"
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/15032737/historic-game-cuba-ignores-pain-many-people-endured
Le Batard's article, and an interview he gave
From the NY Daily News:
"ESPN radio host Dan Le Batard wants to know how bringing baseball to Cuba will help its people"
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/watch-espn-le-batard-skeptical-mlb-visit-cuba-article-1.2573285
From ESPN:
"U.S. visit to Cuba 'already a loss'" (Le Batard paraphrasing/reading the above article)
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=15040419&ex_cid=espnapi_internal
Let's see how ESPN responds to Le Batard's comments. Will he be fired? Speculation from Awful Announcing:
http://awfulannouncing.com/2016/dan-lebatard-blasts-espns-coverage-of-cuba-game-in-miami-herald-column.html
Just to show you how weak our president is, remember this. Raul Castro made Obama an offer, and Obama was not enough of a man to take him up on it. From the Free Beacon:
http://freebeacon.com/blog/raul-castro-wants-a-list-of-political-prisoners-in-cuba-here-it-is/
Just mention the list. What political prisoners. Give me a name or names or when after this meeting is over, you can give me a list of political prisoners, and if we have those political prisoners they will be released before tonight ends.So what did Obama do? Nothing, of course. As always. From ABC News:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-handed-dissidents-list-castro/story?id=37822698
Obama said, with a straight face somehow, that "...what we can do and will continue to do is to stand up for the rights we consider to be universal." Not sure how he plans to do that if he won't even respond to Raul Castro's statement with a simple list.
For the record, here is the list. From the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba:
http://www.fhrcuba.org/2015/07/release-list-of-political-prisoners-still-serving-unjust-time-in-cuban-jails-whose-families-receive-monthly-humanitarian-support-from-canf-fhrc/
UPDATED (February 19th, 2016): See updated list below.UPDATED (January 6th, 2016): #54 Vladimir Morera Bacallao Morera is no longer on hunger Strike. #7 Yuselín Ferrera sentence completed. #48 Eliover Quevedo sentence completed. #53 Rafael Felipe sentence completed. In addition, the Foundation has updated the list below to include the following additional political prisoners currently serving unjust time in Cuban prisons: #20 Alexeis Serrano Avila, #21 Fernando Isael Peña Tamayo, #22 Silverio Portal Contrera, #23 Carlos Manuel Figueroa Alvarez, #34 Mario Alberto Hernández Leyva, #35 Orlando Contrera Aguilar, #36 Ricardo González Sendiña, #37 Ariel González Sendiña, #38 Hugo Damián Prieto Blanco, #39 Wilberto Parada Milán, #40 Nora Lisset Hernández Bulís, #43 Miguel Borroto Vázquez, #44 José David González Fumero, #45 Mario Morera Jardines, #46 Osmani Mendoza Ferriol.UPDATED (October 20, 2015) #36 Danilo Maldonado Machado Valle Grande, Habana DESACATO PENDING DEC 24, 2014 – RELEASED October 20, 2015UPDATED (September 15, 2015 10:12 am): The Foundation has updated the list below to include the following additional political prisoners currently serving unjust time in Cuban prisons: #15 Emilio Serrano Rodríguez, #16 Santiago Cisneros Castellanos, #17 Enrique Bartolomé Cámbara, #18 Edilberto Arzuaga Alcalá, #19 Ernesto Ortega Sarduy, #20 Isaín López Luna, #21 Jordys Manuel Dosil Fong, #22 Alexander Alan Rodríguez, #23 Carlos Amaury Calderín Roca, #24 Reinier Rodríguez Mendoza.UPDATED (September 12, 2015 10:42 am): The Foundation has received confirmation that political prisoner #2 on our list, Andri Frometa Cuenca, was released from prison earlier this morning from the Combinado de Guantanamo. He has been imprisoned since 1991 and faced 47 years of incarceration.UPDATED (September 11, 2015, 1:46 pm): All political prisoners listed below continue to serve unjust sentences in Cuba.UPDATED (July 30, 2015): Three political prisoners have been added (#28, #29, #30) to the list below, bringing total number of political prisoners to 29 + Yessel Boni Rivero (#24) released on “conditional parole” in July of 2015.UPDATED (July 8, 2015, 11:00 am ET) : The Foundation has received confirmation that political prisoner #24 on our list, Yessel Boni Rivero, son of Yaquelin Boni (Ladies in White member), was released from prison late last night under “extra penal license,” a type of conditional parole. Yaquelin Boni stated to FHRC that this was “an achievement of our Lady in White sisters and the support of all people of goodwill inside and outside of Cuba.”Miami, FL – The recent controversy regarding the number of long term (more than 6 months) political prisoners in Cuban jails have prompted The Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC) and The Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) to release the names of 27 Cuban political prisoners whose families receive monthly humanitarian support from the FHRC and CANF. The respective staffs of these NGOs maintain constant communication with the families of those political prisoners, and therefore, can attest to the existence and dire conditions of imprisonment of each of them. This list is not exhaustive, since there are other long-term Cuban political prisoners being assisted by other NGOs.
**The list of “charges” has been left written in Spanish without translation since, in most cases, there are no comparable legal terms and most charges are completely arbitrary.The FHRC calls for the immediate release of all remaining political prisoners in Cuba, permanently and without conditions, including forced exile, parole, house arrest, and or any type of further harassment, detainment, or repression for political motives.The FHRC is aware that there are additional political prisoners, outside of the list provided above, who are currently serving unjust sentences in Cuba. The FHRC requests that these individuals also receive full consideration for their immediate, unconditional release.The Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (“FHRC”) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization established in 1992 to promote a nonviolent transition to a free and democratic Cuba by empowering independent Civil Society within Cuba. FHRC maintains regular contact with human rights defenders and civic activists who are working for change in Cuba through nonviolent means.The Cuban American National Foundation’s mission is to advocate for a non-violent transition to a free and democratic Cuba, a nation that fosters economic prosperity with individual equality and social justice for all; upholds the rule of law and protects the social, economic and political rights of its entire people. To that end, CANF seeks to engage, support and empower Cubans on the island to become the architects of their own destiny by uniting, organizing and reclaiming their inalienable rights. In the continuation of the struggle for those ideals, the Cuban American National Foundation reaffirms its sacred commitment to Cuba and all Cubans.###
