Blog Heap of Links for the day 16 April 2011

"To see yourself on the shores of your native land surrounded by enemies, to be a sitting duck, I'll never forget it," said Eliecer Grave de Peralta, 76. "I'll never forget the betrayal by Kennedy." On Sunday, Bay of Pigs veterans in Florida and New Jersey will hold ceremonies to mark the anniversary of the failed invasion. By the "Martyrs of Assault Brigade 2506" monument in Miami, veterans and other Cuban-Americans will engage in their annual ritual of calling out the names of the roughly 100 men killed in the invasion, as the crowd chants "Presente" after each one. In New Jersey, veterans will mark the day with a similar ceremony. "That day carries many memories for me," said Bay of Pigs veteran Francisco "Pepe" Hernandez, 70, who co-founded and now heads the Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation, the most powerful Cuban exile lobby in the world. "More than anything, they're bitter memories because of so many young men who died needlessly because of the extraordinary errors of the Kennedy Administration."