Happy New Year!!!

And very, very light blogging to continue ahead... we are getting a break but wanted to wish everybody out there a very happy new year, un próspero año nuevo and tons of blessings for 2009.

PD: If case you were wondering, tonight's table will be a cooperative effort with camarones enchilados, arroz blanco, tostones y ensalada. (Sorry, no picadillo de soya!)

Finally, a comprehensive summary of the US financial faults, in Spanish

For our LEP and Spanish speaking readers out there, "Alan Greenspan y lo que realmente se ha hundido", by Carlos Alberto Montaner is a class no one should miss. (Check his five paradoxes either; here in Spanish and here in English.

A friend was telling me not that long ago it was too bad that there were almost no article, essay or analysis written in Spanish, offering a real picture of the US financial mess; only the press releases tirelessly repeated by the MSM media with its obvious liberal bias.

Well, here is your chance. Por favor, tomen nota para que puedan sacar sus propias conclusiones. Y nunca olviden que "el verdadero motor de la economía de mercado no es su sistema financiero, sino la asombrosa creatividad de sus empresarios e innovadores". (My previous thoughts here).

As I've posted countless times in this blog about this country's financial troubles and the whole bailout mania, it does not require a rocket scientist to realize this whole mess was created by greed and political interests that played hide-and-seek with the market rules.

Now, when the house is in fire, those smart people we've voted to those seats keep messing the market natural rules and want to throw gasoline at the pile to turn off the flames.

Great idea whose cost my grandchildren will still pay for.

Now, these are the questions for homework: Where is the accountability? Where are the big exec that lined their pockets all these years facing the courts? Where are the prosecutors investigating? Why all information has not been disclosed?

Pretty simple; they want to keep doing business as usual knowing they'll always have the taxpayer's money to... sacarles las castañas del fuego when things go wrong.

Things to keep in mind at the end of 2008

The pain of being away from most of your loved ones during holiday's season?
Bad, very bad. Some times, unbearable.

The laziness to dress up like a polar bear to go out at any given end-of-the-year celebration?
Manageable.

The worries about our life in the next 4 to 8 years?
A natural consequence of democracy that one should learn to live with.

The commitment to cook yet another Cuban feast for the next gathering with friend?
Enjoyable --and some times, avoidable. (You can always give a chance to any other cooked-by-someone-else-dinner, even thought it won't be Cuban).

The face of my Cubanito 2.0 on Christmas' morning when he woke up and saw the presents piling up below the mini-tree I set for him this year, and listening to his excited voice saying "Mamá vino Santa!. Trajo mucho regalo a mí!"?

Oh, Lord, that is, indeed, PRICELESS.


No forbidden Christmas's trees and dirigido, básico, dirigido and no básico toys (among an endless list of another things) for you, my dear. That makes any sacrifice so worthy!

Those sparkly eyes and face-to-face smiles have the power to erase any shadow of homesickness and more, in a single minute.

And it just feels so good.

Best way to celebrate a half century?

Getting out there as far as you can... or, as some abuelos would said back there, poniendo pies en polvorosa.

Here is ESPN report in English --thanks to Babalú Blog.

Home run con las bases llenas

Courtesy of Mary Anastasia O'Grady, in her column at The Wall Street Journal.

With this title, "Hollywood Celebrates Che Guevara, but it makes no films about the Cuban resistance movement.", who needs introductions?

Heavy sight.
Finally!
At. Least. One. Person. Gets. It.

PD for this former reporter's colleagues out there; this is a Pulitzer's lead:

Hollywood hotshot Benicio Del Toro is not a stand-up comic, but he seemed to be playing one earlier this month when he said he found the role of Cuban Revolution hero Ernesto Guevara, in the new film "Che," like Jesus Christ.

"Only Jesus would turn the other cheek. Che wouldn't," Mr. Del Toro explained. Right. And Bernie Madoff is Mother Teresa, only she wasn't into fraud.

More rebuttal of the same "Che-Del Toro-Sondeberg" crap can be found here, this time brought to us by Humberto Fontova, author of "The Real Che Guevara and the useful idiots who idolize him" and countless pieces on the che-subject.

Have at it.

Capital letters H/T to Babalu Blog

We're getting ready for Nochebuena

Desserts have been baked: pastelitos de guayaba --what else?

Los perniles (pork shoulder) will be marinating and getting themselves ready for tomorrow's feast --most likely to be ended with a ronda of dominó.

Congrí and yuca con mojo couldn´t be absent...

Colorado spared from the nation's economic troubles?

Not more.

Previously, Colorado had largely been spared from the nation's economic woes due to its relative housing stability and job growth courtesy of the energy sector.

Face the State is reporting today that the state's budget is short in (la friolera) $604 million.

The state has experienced three straight months of job losses, with 10,600 jobs lost in October alone. Legislators have been predicting the shortfall for quite a while now.

And what does the governor (D-Bill Ritter) decides to do?
Revamp the 2009-2010 budget with 5% of new spending.

I have serious issues with the school where all these guys --including the ones in Washington-- learned to do the Math. (And I am not even a Math person myself!)

Bonus: FTS Humor collage.
Very, very good!