Hypocrisy? [Updated]

You be the judge.

I've been writing this blog a bit over a year now, and I've been supported and hated. And then there's Antonio De la Cova. Yeah, he's got a Ph.D. and all, but his actions speak louder than his intellect. And, ever since we had our Internet row, I've enlightened myself more about Mr. De la Cova's past actions, and now see why his aberrant behavior is usually ignored by others.

In addition, I recently discovered some information on the Internet that further casts doubt on Mr. De la Cova's reputation. So, I'll set up the evidence and let you decide.

1) Ever since Henry Gomez from the Babalu Blog posted a You Tube video from a profile called "Yabazon" I became suspicious that perhaps this profile belonged to Mr. De la Cova. The video in question was from the late eighties and included a younger Antonio De la Cova. The profile includes other rare video with Antonio De la Cova, and a commercial of a publication that he worked for. Who else would post such videos I asked myself. The "Yabazon" profile also includes a more recent video with Antonio De la Cova on the History Channel. Was "Yabazon" a fan of Mr. De la Cova? Suure.

2) One month later, I notice Mr. De la Cova promoting the videos from "Yabazon" on the Babalu Blog and this raised my suspicions again.

3) Then, last week, I found the connection. After a Google search, I found a Topix internet forum with a comment by "Yabazon." The address underneath it said Bloomington, Indiana. And, as some might know, Mr. De la Cova is from Bloomington, where he is former professor from Indiana University.

All the other pieces fall together. "Yabazon" is Mr. De la Cova. But, this information does not jive with a Mr. De la Cova who gets upset when confronted with anonymous comments. Here's Mr. De la Cova saying: "I do not cowardly hide behind a false name." So I checked out if this is true.

1) On May 26, 2006 Mr. De la Cova commented on the Babalu Blog: "Why do you bother to waste precious time reading Herald blogs? I perused them only once, considered it trash, and have never read them since." But, this didn't stop Mr. De la Cova from leaving an anonymous comment on a Herald Blog on July 13, 2006 as (you guessed it) "Yabazon." It's an obvious comment from Mr. De la Cova, which is VERY long and includes several links to his own website (his usual MO). But, as "Yabazon," Mr. De la Cova gets away with saying that he found his own website after doing a Google search. Slick.

2) The Herald Blogs were not the only victims of "Yabazon." Here's Mr. De la Cova on the Babalu Blog as "Yabazon" commenting on a post which is about HIMSELF. Super slick.

3) "Yabazon" even made a trip over to Los Miquis de Miami Blog. On January 23, 2008 Mr. De la Cova (using his name "Antonio") said "Everything I write on the Babalublog I do so with my last name." Now we know better. But, this didn't stop Mr. De la Cova from commenting as "Yabazon" on February 3, 2008 in his usual manner of citing past personal histories of others (never of himself). And, of course, when someone confronted Mr. De la Cova with anonymous comments on Los Miquis as recently as February 25, he reaffirmed his traditional (but hypocritical) stance that:

"My connections with this blog are only the comments that I leave here, just as at Babalu and other blogs about Cuba, which I do under my own name."

This is the evidence I present. You decide.

---------- Update: April 2008 ----------

To further support the argument that Mr. De la Cova regularly writes using pseudonyms for anonymity, in violation of his own declarations that he does not, here's another recent example:

As mentioned earlier, Mr. De la Cova wrote comments on Los Miquis de Miami Blog on February 3, 2008, first as "Antonio" and later as "Yabazon." As "Yabazon," Mr. De la Cova described Carlos Alberto Montaner as a "hispanófilo," and then went on about Montaner's personal history. On March 30, 2008, Mr. De la Cova made the same remarks describing Montaner again as a "hispanófilo" and mentioning some personal history, but this time under the pseudonym of "Veterano de Ft. Jackson" (veteran of Fort Jackson).

According to Mr. De la Cova's short autobiography (published when he was a professor at Indiana University), he himself "attended boot camp at Fort Jackson" of South Carolina.

[Photo above of Antonio De la Cova from Latin American Studies website.]