Val Prieto is the "founding editor" of the Babablu blog, a vehement anti-Castro website.
He and the crew at the Babalu blog are on a mission!
They're out to kill Castro...by blogging him to death.
Years ago the same kinds of people who write at Babalu, tried to kill Castro by hitting him where he lives, right here in Miami.
How?
They blew up lots of stuff, including a WQBA talk show host who disagreed with the hard line extremists.
Now the hardliners have a blog and they're out to silence anyone who disagrees with them.
Last Monday I wrote about the hypocrisy of the Babalu fanatics and the irony of them censoring anyone on their blog who disagrees with them. And the fact that they are now blocking any blog that links to their site and that contains content that criticizes them.
Rick's South Florida Daily Blog was the first to be blocked by the Bababluers.
And tonight I've learned that I have also joined that exclusive club!
Any links to Babalu from my blog will take you here.
So congratulations to Val and the rest of the bombers. You've done the unthinkable.
Using the tools of the dictator to fight the dictator! Castro would be so proud!
I know I am!
Haha laughing my ass off you dickwad. Only you would take a prank and turn into a violation of your constitutional rights and compare it to terrorist activities. What a bunch of thin-skinned douchebags you all are.
ReplyDeleteBill,
ReplyDeleteI thought Rick was the only one obsessed with Babalu Blog. Guess he now has "company" in that department.
BTW if you want true hypocrisy, how about Rick banning ME from commenting on his site just because I write for Babalu? Never mind the fact that he has always freely commented on MY blog (26th Parallel). Perhaps in the spirit of fairness and full disclosure you might want to mention that.
Robert
ReplyDelete"I thought Rick was the only one obsessed with Babalu Blog. Guess he now has "company" in that department."
Ironically I recently told Rick that he was obsessed with Babalu.
What a difference a week makes, huh?
I was content to let babalu be..I actually never went there much and when I did my comments were deleted.
However I think they crossed the line when the started blocking Rick's links. When I wrote bout it using some satire I was threatned with a lawsuit.
But censorship in any form is wrong.
No, blocking links from a silly blog doesn't compare to the censorship exercised by a totalitarian regime, but it is censorship nonetheless.
I have no idea why Rick bans you from commenting on his site. Perhaps he'll clarify why after he reads this.
Robert....You write for Babalu and I don't allow comments from Babalu writers or contributors on SFDB. As I just got done saying at SFDB, it's not a question of censorship, it's a question of fairness. If Babalu let's me comment there, I'll happily extend the same courtesy back.
ReplyDeleteWhat does it matter to you anyway? How many times have you said that you don't visit SFDB as much and that your life is a lot more stress free. It's real simple: don't visit and you will care less whether your comments are allowed or not.
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I'm one of the Babalu folks, Bill. That's why Rick banned me last week. Frankly I really don't care all that much, except for the sweet irony that it represents.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I'm not big on a blanket banning of sorts (I refuse to call it censorship since your blog and Rick's can still be accessed by whoever wants to type in the correct URL on their browser of choice). However, people who run their own blogs with their own money and under their real identities have a right to deny access to whomever they feel like. One may not agree with it, but again I don't see where that's censorship.
Also, don't you think your inflammatory posts comparing some Babalu folks to fidel (yes, lower case) and Chavez may have had something to do with their reaction to ban you? Call it humor, parody, etc. It was still tasteless, IMHO.
You're right, Rick. As I just mentioned in my reply to Bill. I really don't care all that much. I just find it extremely ironic that on my main blog (although not very active as of late it's still MINE), you (as well as your frequent visitors and commenters) have always been free to leave comments, many of which have been less than complimentary of me and my posts. Try to reconcile your decision all you want, it's still not fair from a "your" blog to "my" blog point of view.
ReplyDeleteRobert:
ReplyDeleteLike I've said before....all censorship is wrong. Period.
You need only look at the comments left by Henry Gomez to see that I satnd behind that.
If you have a blog like Babalu, that purports to be a forum where an exchange of ideas on the Castro regime is the main topic, I think the purpose is defeated by only allowing comments that agree with your points. What's the point of having a forum or blog where everyone agrees with one another?
I don't agree with Rick banning you. It appears that some babaluers are not as strident as the main guys there. For the moment I'd include you in that category. Inyour case I'd urge Rick to not have a blanket ban.
"Also, don't you think your inflammatory posts comparing some Babalu folks to fidel (yes, lower case) and Chavez may have had something to do with their reaction to ban you? Call it humor, parody, etc. It was still tasteless, IMHO.
Yes, those comparisons probably had something to do with the banning. Am I upset? Of course not. I think it reinforces what I've written about the blog.
However if you want an example of tasteless check this out:
http://www.babalublog.com/archives/011331.html
Comparing a democratically elected president with Karl Marx and Che?
Robert...you're seriously arguing that I should recognize a "26th Parallel Robert" and a "Babalu Robert?" That makes no sense and I think you know it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to reconcile anything...my position is crystal clear, I think. And for some one who doesn't care, you sure do protest a lot and talk about SFDB a lot at babalu and 26th. I mean, dedicating whole posts to me at 26th is a strange way of not caring.
BTW, I am not "banning" anyone, Bill, from my blog or comments. I'm not allowing Babalu writers and contributors to participate in the blog's discussion until they extend the same courtesy to me at Babalu.
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The picture in the post in question came from a reader via another blog, and is meant to point out the dubious links, both direct and indirect, that Obama has been associated with. I don't believe Obama is an outright Marxist, nor do I believe he admires Che. But Davis and Ayers are a different story, and we know those individuals admire(d) Che and Marx. One of Obama's campaign offices in Houston featured a poster of Che adorning one of the walls.
ReplyDeleteAll that aside, "two wrongs don't make a right", especially when you're directly attacking folks you don't even know aside from some blog posts.
Yes, Rick. Sometimes I fail to not care about your blog, especially when it makes links between people I consider friends and a murderer. And you know we've had similar run-ins in the past.
ReplyDeleteListen, I don't care whether you allow me or not to post comments on your site. As administrator of your blog, that's your choice. But when you go to great lengths to criticize Babalu for redirecting your links, yet exhibit similar behavior yourself, I just can't help but call you out on it.
I'm not redirecting their links, Robert. I've linked to them, kept them on the blogrolls, complimented them, and let them comment for 4 friggin' years while all they've done is malign me and block me on the blog and on their radio show.
ReplyDeleteListen, I know you're one of them, you've always been one of them, so I don't expect a fair shake in a discussion like this. I've laid out the obvious and you're choosing to ignore it. It's to be expected. But don't ever make the mistake of equating my refusal to allow their comments with everything that they've been responsible for over the years and that you sign off on. It isn't the same and you know it. I just wish you had the pair of nuts to say it.
Have a good day.
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Rick,
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of continuing this tired thread, let me remind you of something you already know: I write for Babalu. I know most of them and consider them as friends. Does that mean I approve of everything they say and do? Of course not, and vice-versa. I don't run or administer the site, and those that do never asked me to sign off on anything. In the end, this pretty much amounts to you just trying to accuse me by circumstance of "censorship" just because they've don't like you and you don't like them. You have every right to bitch and whine about Babalu keeping you out. You also have the right to do the exact same thing to them and to those associated with Babalu. But please don't trot out weak excuses and tell me that I don't "have the nuts" to say that it isn't the same, because it IS the same. Perhaps you're the one who needs to grow a pair, admit that you've done just as much shit-throwing in this fight and accept your part in it. But, no, you're much too sanctimonious and dishonest to ever say that.