Thwarting Free Speech - Update

On the subject of the WBC organizers bowing to Cuba's wishes in "banning signs of an "inappropriate" or "political" nature", the New York Post has a wonderful piece which you can read here.

The highlights? Here are my favorites (my emphasis):

Alas, by the next morning, the Cubans were threatening to quit the tournament - and organizers apologized for booting Fidel's henchmen. The WBC then insisted that its "code of conduct" would be strictly enforced: Anyone not following the policy would be removed. What a pity.

After all, what kind of a message does that send about American values?
the Cubans only got to play in the first place because Major League Baseball convinced the Bush administration to grant an exception to the longstanding Cuban boycott.

Rather than use the opportunity to demonstrate the concept of openness and tolerance, the WBC simply adopted the ways of a reprehensible dictator - enforcing repression. As the second round of the WBC continues this week, the WBC should drop its ban on political signs.

But the WBC's failure to uphold American values is itself an embarrassment.

Oh, yeah, one more time - with feeling: Abajo Fidel!

Abajo Fidel, and the WBC organizers, indeed.

Tags: Cuba, Baseball, Freedom, Human Rights, Puerto Rico, Dissident, Fidel Castro