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Four years after return to Cuba, Elian a normal schoolboy
Kansas City .com ^ | 7/31/04 | MAKI BECKER

Posted on 08/01/2004 2:57:57 PM PDT by Libloather

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To: The Scourge of Yazid

>>a good start would be suggesting that they rent either "Bitter Sugar" (Azucar Amarga) or "Before Night Falls."

I've never lived under such a regime, nor would I ever wish that on my worst enemy. My ex-girlfriend is from Romania and some of the stories she told me ... chilling.

I'll have to add these to my list of future rentals.


261 posted on 08/02/2004 2:24:03 PM PDT by Betis70
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To: The Scourge of Yazid
Yes, I think that most people who were watching the events unfolding in Miami assumed that Elian's father was an independent party, who was under no pressure to conform to the dictates of Fidel and Raul Castro.

They knew, but they didn't want to believe it. The Liberal propaganda machine made sure people wouldn't believe Cuba was that bad, and Elian's father and Fidel were just a couple of good guys who wanted the best for the child.

262 posted on 08/02/2004 2:25:26 PM PDT by Victoria Delsoul (The beauty of flip-flopping consists entirely in saying one thing and doing something else)
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To: Mister Blond

My mistake. You apparently even aware of them.


263 posted on 08/02/2004 2:26:15 PM PDT by laredo44 (Liberty is not the problem)
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To: Green Knight

Who's to say it wasn't all about getting Elien here so they could claim him for Welfare payments?

Not saying that's the case, just trying to make a point by using an outragous example. I don't think any of us know all the truth in this situation. I guess the only thing that could have made us all happy is if his father had decided to stay here in America with Elian. But since he didn't, I say he's got the right to raise his son.


264 posted on 08/02/2004 2:27:53 PM PDT by Mister Blond
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To: laredo44

There might be some confusion. She didn't make the statement you quoted, I did. Concerning Elian's father.


265 posted on 08/02/2004 2:29:51 PM PDT by Mister Blond
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To: Mister Blond

How do you know the father even wanted him back in Cuba?


266 posted on 08/02/2004 2:30:07 PM PDT by stands2reason (Kerry/Edwards: TERRORISTS FLEE FROM BETTER HAIR!!!)
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To: Mister Blond
Two questions for the topic genius.

1. Do you agree we all have inalienable rights?

2. Does anyone have the authority to bargain away the rights of another?

267 posted on 08/02/2004 2:31:38 PM PDT by laredo44 (Liberty is not the problem)
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To: stands2reason

Because he said so and he came after him. So I assume that's the truth.

I'm certainly more sure of that than I am that he was being coerced. I don't make outragous statements based on nothing but assumptions. But that doesn't keep people like those I'm debating with from doing so.


268 posted on 08/02/2004 2:33:15 PM PDT by Mister Blond
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To: laredo44
Two questions for the topic genius.

One question for the flamer...

1) Do tactics like that lead to more or less interesting discussions?

Shaking head in disbelief...

269 posted on 08/02/2004 2:34:57 PM PDT by Mister Blond
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To: Mister Blond
There might be some confusion. She didn't make the statement you quoted, I did. Concerning Elian's father.

You are correct. I thought I had copied her statement into my clipboard but apparently had not, then didn't check to see that I had pasted the statement when I was replying to you. We all make mistakes which is why I was trying to encourgae her.

270 posted on 08/02/2004 2:35:46 PM PDT by laredo44 (Liberty is not the problem)
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To: Mister Blond
One question for the flamer...

1) Do tactics like that lead to more or less interesting discussions?

When the person to whom they are addressed has the courage to debate, yes.

271 posted on 08/02/2004 2:37:58 PM PDT by laredo44 (Liberty is not the problem)
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To: Libloather

Well, isn't that special. And yes, he's living in the gulag of the Caribbean. Sometime soon Castro will assume room temperature and the island of Cuba will be free.


272 posted on 08/02/2004 2:40:43 PM PDT by hershey (, WH)
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To: Mister Blond
Shaking head in disbelief...

You should be. By siding with the removal of Elian to Cuba, where he has no right to liberty, you take the position that a parent can bargain a child into slavery. Even a parent in slavery or any other condition has no authority to bargain away the rights of their child.

273 posted on 08/02/2004 2:44:33 PM PDT by laredo44 (Liberty is not the problem)
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To: maxwellp
How ironic that Janet Reno made her name as a prosecutor in child abuse cases.

My hope for Elian is that he will be treated relatively well given the world media spotlight.

Did anyone in the Clinton administration praise or even recognize Elian's mother's heroic sacrifice? God bless her.

274 posted on 08/02/2004 2:48:49 PM PDT by SupplySider
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To: Mister Blond
Who's to say it wasn't all about getting Elien here so they could claim him for Welfare payments?


Nobody sacrifices their life for Welfare payments. And whatever the case, you gotta give the benefit of the doubt to people who're FLEEING AN OPPRESSIVE DICTATORSHIP! Geeze, what part of "Communist Dictatorship" do you NOT understand?

I don't think any of us know all the truth in this situation.


No, some of us know the truth of the situation. Others are either ignorant of the truth, or willfully blind themselves to the truth in order to not have to admit that they supported something which was terribly wrong.

I guess the only thing that could have made us all happy is if his father had decided to stay here in America with Elian. But since he didn't, I say he's got the right to raise his son.


And the likelihood that he was threatened by Castro makes no nevermind to you? But hey, this is Fidel Castro, after all. The good friend of Danny Glover and Steven Speilberg. He COULDN'T be a brutal dictator. We MUST assume the best from him at all times.
275 posted on 08/02/2004 3:02:17 PM PDT by Green Knight (Looking forward to seeing Jeb stepping over Hillary's rotting political corpse in 2008.)
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To: Mister Blond
Let's review some known facts about Fidel Castro's Cuba.

Q: What does Fidel's Cuba have in common with jails and concentration camps?

A: The people in charge shoot you when you try to leave.

Q: What happens to people who express an idea that does not fall in line with Castro's ideas?

A: Ask the seventy-five independent journalists and dissidents Castro threw in jail for speaking out against his policies in 2003?

Here's what we do know beyond the shadow of a doubt:

In the absence of an absolute certainty that we know what Juan Miguel truly wanted, and faced with the undeniable fact that parental rights are voided by the Cuban Constitution, then Justice must concern itself with the rights of Elian Gonzalez.

And Elian Gonzalez as a human being, has a right to be free.

276 posted on 08/02/2004 3:10:45 PM PDT by Luis Gonzalez (Sin Patria, pero sin amo)
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To: Mister Blond

I can't answer #255, I'm still laughing too hard.


277 posted on 08/02/2004 3:14:32 PM PDT by Prodigal Daughter
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To: Mister Blond
"Who's to say it wasn't all about getting Elien here so they could claim him for Welfare payments?"

The people who you insult with that ridiculous post, had their home invaded by Federal agents brandishing weapons, their lives disrupted, their belongings broken, and in spite of all that, Marisleysis Gonzalez had the strength of resolve to look into television cameras belonging to every major news outlet in the world, and say that Bill Clinton had "dishonored his family in Washington. He dishonored the White House. Now he has dishonored my family and he has dishonored America."

That's a whole lot to do for less than a hundred bucks a month in child welfare payments, and a whole lot more courage than most people would display under similar circumstances.

278 posted on 08/02/2004 3:23:15 PM PDT by Luis Gonzalez (Sin Patria, pero sin amo)
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To: Luis Gonzalez; Mister Blond
Welfare payment?!?!?!!! Cubans are one of the refugee groups that receives the least amount of welfare. I say one of them, because I think that Vietnamese and other groups are also in their company.

Mister Blond: Ever thought to ask yourself: HOW many Marielitos and Balseros are in Iraq right now? How many first wave Cubans went to Vietnam? I don't have the exact figures so I'll just say "Muchos".

279 posted on 08/02/2004 3:34:28 PM PDT by Prodigal Daughter
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To: Mister Blond
I don't make outragous statements based on nothing but assumptions. But that doesn't keep people like those I'm debating with from doing so.

The only assumption I made is that if he thought otherwise, he wouldn't have been allowed to say so. So, we can't make an accurate assessment either way.

280 posted on 08/02/2004 4:02:29 PM PDT by stands2reason (Kerry/Edwards: TERRORISTS FLEE FROM BETTER HAIR!!!)
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