Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Foot in the mouth disease (Lula and Coulter)

Lula goes to the Congo, calls it democratic and say it’s giving lessons in democracy. Odd for a country that hasn’t had a democratic election since 1992. Maybe this is the kind of democracy Lula wants to spread, one candidate, one result, lather, rinse, repeat. 


Meanwhile right here in America, the right is showing its ugly anti-Semitic head. From Nixon’s constant referral to Kissinger as “Jewboy” to the Mega Churches that preach the fiery-hell-for-Jews-end-of-the-world heresy known as ‘the Rapture’, the right wing of this country is plagued by people who believe Jews are better converted or else. The same ideas that once fueled the inquisition in Spain and Portugal, the progroms of the rest of Europe and finally the Holocaust are still alive and resounding in Republican circles. Anne Coulter this week said Jews needed to be “perfected” on national TV, that Jews should convert to Christianity, because it would just make things easier. It’s typical of the right to pay lip-service to Israel and then preach this kind of hatred amongst themselves. I call on everyone out there that cares about prejudice and discrimination to call Border’s and other bookstores and ask them to stop carrying Anne Coulter’s books, a rich anti-Semite is a very dangerous anti-Semite indeed.
Posted by at 15:40:53 | Permalink | No Comments »

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Che is dead, who cares?

Latin Americans (a term I dislike since it usually implies Brazilians who are Portuguese speakers but not the Quebecois who speak French) are in the heat of discussion this week whether Che was a villain or a hero. Once Fidel falls, and those people who had family members executed by Che and his crew go back to Cuba, and erase his face from every town and city there, Che will pass on as an icon to do exactly what he does best: sell t-shirts. Che executed people in cold blood and gave orders to execute at least 180 people by firing squad. Why is there any question whether he is a hero or villain? He is a murderer just like Pinochet, Mussolini, Pol Pot, Franco, etc. Does it really matter what “ideology” you are representing when you pull the trigger? These were defenseless, unarmed civilians! Latin America (ugh!) needs a dose of intellectual and moral honesty, we can start by burying Che in the past of failed ideals and cold-blooded murderers where he belongs. 

I doubt you will find anyone that can argue that Baptista’s dictatorship was better than Fidel’s, but to replace a dictatorship with another is not a revolution, its just mediocre. Unfortunately, mediocrity is running lose in the minds and mouths of the young today, years after the atrocities committed in the name of communism in Asia, Europe, Africa, Cuba, etc. Socially the revolution did bring health and education to the poor. Economically, however, the revolution was a disaster, Cuba went from being the third largest economy in Latin America to being the second poorest, it created vast amounts of poverty. History books across the continent are filled with praise for communism and a generation of ignorant, ill-informed children are being spoon-fed this red nonsense. Why not break the cycle of violence and misery and leave communism behind?

 

 

Posted by at 21:39:28 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Burma

The world watches on as one of the most sinister and repressive regimes shoots and burns protester and monks this week. Welcome to Burma where communism, dictatorship, central government control are still alive in this day and age, doing what they have always done, murdering. China refuses to intervene and Russia shows all the cowardice common to its foreign policy, these are two nations that absolutely should not hold permanent seats in the UN Security Council. Meanwhile the president of Russia is becoming its prime-minister after bringing back the old Soviet anthem, and Russian journalists and civilians once again disappear in the middle of the night. 


The more things change, the more they stay the same as the cliché would have it. The Red East is still a bastion of repression and violence showing its complete ineptitude for freedom. Burma could be the domino that gets Laos, Vietnam and North Korea on the right path, but without China’s influence it will be difficult. NATO should look to the East for new members and bases. How long until the West, once again, will have to contain Russia? How long until Russia and China demonstrate enough courage to embrace democracy? I worry that these protests and all our petitions and good will, will simply amount to nothing and that absolutely nothing in Burma will change. Thanks to China and Russia, Burma will continue to be a giant prison. Maybe it’s time NATO faces down these tyrants again, it worked in the past, why not now?
Posted by at 17:32:43 | Permalink | No Comments »