Quote of the Day

From the ever-excellent blog, Gates of Vienna, via Mr. Rick Mercer, who writes for a Newfoundland and Labrador paper, The Independent:

The gates of Auschwitz were not opened with peace talks. Holland was not liberated by peacekeepers and fascism was not defeated with a deft pen.

Indeed.

Norfolk, Virginia

Here's a great piece from Pilot Online:

Escaping Castro: From Cuba to Norfolk and beyond

When people ask Ed Suarez where he was born, he has a quick and quizzical answer. "Norfolk," he always says, with a warm accent.

Suarez was 31 when he first set foot in Norfolk and only spent a couple of days there in 1966 before leaving to make a new life in Miami and later Chicago.

But for Suarez, his brother, Juan, and four friends who survived a harrowing escape from Castro's Cuba on a homemade raft 40 years ago, Norfolk is where they entered the United States. It is where they considered themselves reborn.

Today, as people engage in Fidel Castro's death watch, the Suarez brothers find folks unable to comprehend how bad things were when they fled their homeland.

They can never forget.

Read the whole story here.

Another great Cuban-American success story

USA Today has a great story about Northeastern University point guard Adrian Martinez and his family.

BOSTON — Adrian Martinez once played basketball on rundown playground courts in Cuba. At times the backboards were made of rotting wood and bicycle tire rims doubled as basketball rims. The Northeastern University senior describes the condition of his boarding school, a sports academy for Cuba's rising athletes, as deplorable, with leaking plumbing, cracked playing surfaces and moldy hallways.

The memories are 10 years old, but they remain vivid, a stark contrast to his life as a Division I player in the USA.

"Life was so hard in Cuba," Martinez, 22, says. "The quality of life was so low."

The 6-2, 200-pound point guard averages 10.8 points for a Northeastern team that is 7-15 (5-6 in the Colonial Athletic Association), but Martinez doesn't measure success with his scoring. He's in a position to move forward, with a bachelor's degree earned in criminal justice and work toward a master's in sports leadership.

The opportunities ahead are numerous, a contradiction to life in Cuba.

"They really don't have a chance of improving themselves," he says of the aunts, uncles and cousins left behind. "It's like you're stuck and you'll be there forever."

Some of his relatives risked their lives by coming to the USA in homemade boats in 1994. Martinez's family won an immigration lottery in 1996 that brought him, his parents and sister Ariadna, now 14, here and out of the poverty endured by more than half of Cuba's estimated 11.4 million population. Their godsend, though, came with its pressure-packed moments.

Martinez, then 12, could not tell a soul about his family's intentions to leave their home in Havana. The family feared retribution from those who could be jealous or those who pledged loyalty to Fidel Castro's dictatorial government.

"If you told a neighbor, he could tell someone who could turn on you," he says.

About his success he says, "When you see people, especially in your family, making such sacrifices for you, you can't mess up."

Read the whole wonderful story here.

The "Coño! Me cago en la mierda!" Blogpoll

Have at it, folks:

Two great minds meet

Oh. Sorry. That was the title for another story. Anyway, here is the, ahem, lowdown on the castro video from last night from SrCohiba of Cuban American Pundits:

Tempus fugit

Isn't it amazing that already a month has passed in the new year...?

Im a GREAT UNCLE, Again!!!

Amanda, my Goddaughter, just had a healthy, beautiful baby boy. Both mother and son are well. Baby Matthew, Brandon's little brother, was born at 1:27 pm.

Looks like it's time to add another Cubiche to the blogroll!

I hope to have more details soon.

A short message for the Bolivarian Youth

Today's Miami herald has an interview with the Bolivarian Youth Group members and I wont comment on anything stated but the following:

'There are so many people who say, `Fidel killed my father,' and my response is, 'Well, sorry, your father was probably a bad person,' '' said Emmanuel Lopez, 21, head of the FAU chapter. ``When they cite things like that, they say he was a dissident, but then you research it and find out he was being paid by the CIA.''

Emmanuel Lopez, I have just one thing to say. Prove it. Here's a link to a list (one of 22) of Cubans whose death are atributed to fidel castro and his regime. Please prove that each and every one of those people on those lists was being paid by the CIA.

Because you cannot make a statement like that and not be prepared to back it up with FACTS and DOCUMENTATION.

So get to work, little boy.

And now, a message from Monsanto

Dont know if the following video from Jon Stewart has been posted anywhere, but, well, it pretty much speaks for itself:

Hat tip: de la Cova

Cuban Healthcare Smoke and Mirrors

"...Here, however, we have the best maternity-infant hospital in the country."

fidel castro, May 20, 1989

I guess it doesnt matter that this maternity-infant hospital is now abandoned, what with 58.6 out of every 100 pregnancies in Cuba being aborted and all...

More at The Real Cuba.

"Was 9/11 really that bad?"

I have been swamped at work (for one solid week) with solving telecomm issues so my posting and commenting and mud-slinging at the looney left has been lax of late. But when I heard Rush talking about this yesterday, I knew I had to share it with all of you. It's entitled "Was 9/11 really that bad?" and was published as an op-ed in the Los Angeles Time on Sunday.

The title, which is bad enough, does not even do justice to the vile nature of what this lefty loon is implying, namely that a desire to attack us is not the same as having the capacity to attack and hence, we have overreacted. Mr. Bell, being a professor of history and all, seems to conveniently forget many examples in history where a dedicated guerilla force, loaded, if not with great arms with patience, can wear down even the mightiest in a relatively short historical time. Vietnam anyone?

But it is no disrespect to the victims of 9/11, or to the men and women of our armed forces, to say that, by the standards of past wars, the war against terrorism has so far inflicted a very small human cost on the United States. As an instance of mass murder, the attacks were unspeakable, but they still pale in comparison with any number of military assaults on civilian targets of the recent past, from Hiroshima on down.

Even if one counts our dead in Iraq and Afghanistan as casualties of the war against terrorism, which brings us to about 6,500, we should remember that roughly the same number of Americans die every two months in automobile accidents.

Of course, the 9/11 attacks also conjured up the possibility of far deadlier attacks to come. But then, we were hardly ignorant of these threats before, as a glance at just about any thriller from the 1990s will testify. And despite the even more nightmarish fantasies of the post-9/11 era (e.g. the TV show 24's nuclear attack on Los Angeles), Islamist terrorists have not come close to deploying weapons other than knives, guns and conventional explosives. A war it may be, but does it really deserve comparison to World War II and its 50 million dead? Not every adversary is an apocalyptic threat.

Mr. Bell, one victim of Islamic terrorism is one too many.

I can deduce that he applauds the (lack of) response to these terrorists that was exemplified during the Clinton/Albright/Berger years. 'Don't do anything and maybe they'll go away.' That's the ticket. He conveniently fails to remind us that the nature of this enemy is vastly different from the Nazi or Soviet threats of the last century -- transitory threats that were defeated as much by our will and force of arms as by their own weakness and stupidity. No, this enemy has God on its side, both human and divine fighting side-by-side to defeat the unbeliever. They've been doing it for fourteen centuries and I know they won't stop until they succeed.

What will it take to convince these people of the great peril we face?

Score another one for us

Remember Val's post about Nickelodeon Pimping che guevara?

I know a number of us complained:

In your commercial for the show, Naked Brothers Band, one of the children is wearing a che guevara t-shirt. To say that I am shocked and offended is an understatement. Would you put a Hitler t-shirt on a child? I realize the icon is very popular among some ignorant trendy types who don't know better, but those in the media have a responsiibility to be informed. che guevara was a mass murderer and along with fidel castro is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths and the gulag prison system that Cubans still suffer under. He is indeed not a hero but a villian and his image is painfully offensive especially to Cuban Americans, but also to any knowledgeable person. Surely Nickelodeon is not intentionally promoting a mass murderer.

I'm sure I'm not the only one to receive this response:

Hello, On behalf of Nickelodeon, thank you for sharing your feedback regarding the Naked Brothers Band Movie. Though we regret to hear of your dissatisfaction, we truly appreciate you presenting us with your concerns and invaluable information. This movie was acquired by our network, as it is in line with the family-friendly content featured on our air.

It was not intended to be offensive, nor is it a reflection of personal beliefs.

As a result of your feedback, the content featured in the Naked Brothers Band movie has been modified.

We truly appreciate you notifying us of your concerns and for your assistance in our continued efforts to strive for excellence in programming.

Sincerely,

Viewer Services

Voulez-vous aller au Cuba, eh?

I read the following from The Canadian Press in my news feeds this morning and didnt think much of it:

Montreal company offers $300 rebate for bringing goods into Cuba Canadian Press MONTREAL (CP) - A Quebec travel agency is offering clients a $300 discount on its travel packages to Cuba in exchange for taking a suitcase full of personal items into the country.

The company says it is simply acting as a middleman for expatriate Cubans wishing to send hard-to-find everyday items to Cuba.

Montreal-based Antillas Express offers clients a rebate if they take a suitcase past Cuban customs.

A spokesperson who did not want to be identified said the practice is legal and that the company assumes full responsibility for what's inside the luggage.

"We check all the merchandise because it's in our interests that it reaches its destination," the spokesperson told The Canadian Press. "It's not in our interest that the merchandise be confiscated at the Cuban border."

She said relatives often use the service to send such items as Aspirin, clothing and pens to family members back home.

Company representatives pick up the suitcase at the airport, and then deliver the items to their intended recipients.

"This way, you can send more (goods to Cuba) and for cheaper prices than (through) the mail," the spokesperson said.

A U.S. embargo against the Communist island country has long restricted what can be sent there from the United States, and forbids exporting products to Cuba through third countries.

The embargo, which has been in place since 1963, was tightened again in 2004, forcing ex-pats to find new ways for sending gifts back home.

The evil US embargo is preventing Cuban families - from Canada no less! - from sending goods and necessities to those on the island so they must resort to using Canadian tourists as mules. Damned evil, immoral, inhumane US embargo! Damned Americans! Damned right-wing extremists Miami Cubans!!!!

But wait, there's much more the article doesnt tell you. Especially the following from this travel website's forum:

Insanity at Cuban Customs in Havana.

Well, as I told you last week, my best friend (Canadian) and his Cuban
wife flew down to Havana last Sunday night with Cubana from Toronto. I
had asked him to specifically note the procedures with Cuban Customs
upon arrival. He has been in and out of Havana over 50 times, so he is
very experienced with Aduana.

Well it's NOT a pretty picture. It's become downright UGLY in fact.

Upon arrival, clearing Immigration and getting your luggage is just the
same as it has always been. However from this point onwards things have
drastically changed.

After getting your baggage, you present yourself to a Customs officer
who visually checks all your luggage. This Aduana person then
arbitrarily decides whether you appear to have "lots" of luggage or not.
And arriving passengers are arbitrarily either allowed to pass, or sent
to a set of scales to have their luggage weighed. My friend was waved
aside to be weighed, as was his wife, even though both were presenting
themselves separately.

Now here's where it gets bloody stupid. They were both WITHIN the
allowed weight limits on their Cubana flight, which as flight only
tickets were for 64 kilos each in luggage. They were NOT at this maximum
weight. They also had an NJT box.

The NJT box was allowed to pass without question, however they were each
weighed and absolutely everything is weighed that a single passenger
has. Both their checked luggage AND their carry-on luggage (combined).

The NEW RULES are that you are now allowed ONLY 30 kilos of luggage per
person regardless of what the items are, and you are CHARGED a WHOPPING
10 CUC PER KILO for every KILO that you are over the 30 kilo limit. This
INCLUDES all personal items, camera equipment, dive equipment, sports
equipment, bicycles or ANYTHING else that a tourist might have with
them. There are NO exceptions to this.

My friends were a total of 33 kilos over the 30 kilo limit and were
charged 330 CUC ($435 CDN) to bring their luggage into Cuba. They asked
what their choices were and were told that they either pay or go into
the Aduana secondary inspection area and abandon whatever it takes to
get their weight down to 30 kilos each. They chose to pay, but were NOT
happy with that.

They both told me that there was LOTS of screaming, yelling and very
angry people at the Havana airport, including business people who had
their laptops, business papers etc., weighed with their luggage and
charged accordingly.

IMHO this is going to have serious consequences for tourism, especially
for people like me who travel with a laptop and extensive camera
equipment which alone weighs nearly 15 kilos. I can't imagine how this
will affect sport scuba diving in Cuba. Nobody in their right mind will
pay to bring personal diving or other sports equipment into Cuba at
those prices.

This will seriously make me reconsider Cuba as either a vacation or
photography destination.

Steve_YYZ

You can read the rest of the comments at the forum here.

Hat tip Greg R.

El Nuevo "Son de la Loma"

Reader Aymee just sent the following and I couldnt resist. It's in Spanish only - sorry folks, some things you just cant translate. Enjoy the new lyrics to the famous Miguel Matamoros tune: "Son de la Loma":

MAMA YO QUIERO SABER,
SI SE MURIO EL "COMA-ANDANTE"
PUES YA HA JODIDO BASTANTE
Y NO DEJA DE JODER
CON SU GOBIERNO HUMILLANTE
Y SU MANERA DE SER..

¿EN DONDE ESTARA? AY MAMA!
¿INGRESADO EN LA HABANA...
HACE UNA SEMANA?
¿QUIZAS EN SANTIAGO
HOSPITALIZADO?

EL "FIFO" ESTA EN COMA,
¿O ESTA CONGELADO?
¡OJALA!!! ¡ SI SEÑOR!!!

MAMA, EL QUIZAS ESTA EN COMA,
QUIZAS ESTA CONGELADO
Y SI SALIO DE ESE COMA
TAL VEZ ESTA YA ESTA EXILADO...

CORO : EL FIFO ESTA EN COMA
¿O ESTA CONGELADO? (SE REPITE DOS VECES)

OYE... FIDEL ESTA EN COMA,
OYE... QUE COMA MAS LARGA
POR QUE SERA QUE ESE NO SE LARGA
PARA QUE EL CUBANO COMA

CORO : EL FIFO ESTA EN COMA
O ESTA CONGELADO?

RAULITO SE ME HA PERDIDO
OYE QUE COÑO LE PASA
ES QUE NO ENCUENTRA LA LLAVE
O QUE NO ENCUENTRA LA CASA

LOS DOS HERMANITOS
DE TAN MALA ENTRAÑA...
QUIZAS ESTEN MUERTOS
O QUIZAS EN ESPAÑA

PORQUE SON DE LA LOMA
Y BAJARON AL LLANO
Y ASI ESCLAVIZARON
AL PUEBLO CUBANO

SON DE LA LOMA
UN SON TAN CUBANO
¡ABAJO FIDEL...
Y ABAJO SU HERMANO!

Deja vú for Cuban human rights in 2006

The writing is a bit muted, considering the magnitude of the human rights tragedy in Cuba, but Amnesty International this morning has issued a report summarizing the persecution and other abuses committed by the castro regime in 2006.

"For the past 40 years, Amnesty International (AI) has campaigned against human rights violations committed by the Cuban government, in particular, the imprisonment of political dissidents and journalists as a result of severe restrictions on the freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly," AI states.

In 2006, there was more of the same.

Warning: The U.S. "embargo" is criticized, but the bulk of the report is an indictment of the castro regime, whichever of the two bastards is in charge. It is refreshing to see Amnesty focus on the parts of Cuba outside of Gitmo.

The complete report is posted here, with links to more information about some of the individuals named within.

Pacing, Pacing and More Pacing

Because nothing in this world is more important to me than this.

Looks like a visit to my good friends at Cuban Crafters Cigars might be necessary in the immediate future.

Canadians just want to have fun

They are not worried about fidels health, and you can bet they're not worried about this, or this either.

From the Toronto Sun:

Toronto travel agents say winter-weary Canadians are flocking to Cuba in record numbers for fun in the sun without any concern about the health of fidel castro.

There is a huge demand for Cuba," Cathy Phoenix, of Gerrard Travel, said. "There has been no comment on the politics by our customers."

Phoenix, and others in the travel industry, said vacationers aren't asking if Castro is alive or what will happen to Cubans when he dies.

The agents said no one has cancelled trips to the island due to political incertainity.

"People want to go and have fun under the sun," she said.

Ajiaco for breakfast

I'll be pretty busy trying to meet a deadline at the office so this will probably be my only post today and I figured a nice link ajiaco would give you all plenty of stuff to read and discuss. Not to mention that it's an artic 50 something degrees here in Miami today and ajiaco is just the thing to warm our innards.

Remember the three "counter-protestors" that got chased by the old folks on Calle Ocho the other day? Turns out they're professional agitators. Whodathunkit, eh? Nuevo Accion broke the story.

The Real Cuba has some interesting quotes from the chaplain of La Cabaña in 1959, who gave last rites to many of che guevara's victims.

La Contra Revolucion, Child of the Revolution and Uncommon Sense talk about Cuba's fabled "low infant mortality rate."

Blog for Cuba has some choice words for our new Democrat controlled Congress.

Spielberg recants his "best hours of my life" (interview with castro), El Confeti isnt convinced.

Jack Bauer and 24 banned in Venezuela? Surely you gest...

And please dont miss this post at Cuban-American Pundits.

Last but not least, here's two more blogs to add to your Cubiches reading list: Paradise Spirit and Castro Death Watch.

Have a great day folks. Feel free to use the comments as an open thread and add your ingredients to today's ajiaco.

Culture of corruption cocktail with a twist of lemon

"A deal in the desert for Sen. Reid? A bill he wrote could have affected the friend who sold the land."

Lejos de la Isla

"Lejos de la Isla", a documentary from L.E. Salas, poignantly presents the Cuban exile experience to the English speaking audience.

The filmmaker's introduction:

Lejos de la Isla tells the story of those closely affected by the 47 years of the Cuban Revolution. Prior to Fidel Castro’s reign, Cuba was open to immigration. However, once Castro proclaimed himself dictator of Cuba, one of the largest exodus recorded began, one that continues today, 47 years after the Cuban Revolution.

Six central characters of the film discuss in detail their personal experiences through Operation Pedro Pan, the Freedom Flights, El Mariel, the Rafter Crisis, and the Cuban Visa Lottery.

Dr. Luis Martinez-Fernandez, Cuban Scholar, Historian and chief editor of The Encyclopedia of Cuba, speaks in length about events that lead to the revolution and identifies the history of Cuban Immigration. Dr. Victor Andres Triay, Cuban-American Historian, Professor and Author of Fleeing Castro and Bay of Pigs, discusses the rise of the revolution and the failures of the Bay of Pigs attack due to lack of promised U.S. support. Yvonne Conde, a journalist and author of Operation Pedro Pan, shares here personal experience of the first year of the revolution as well as being one of the 14,000 Cuban Children who were sent out of Cuba as part of an underground program called Operation Pedro Pan.

Another feature in Lejos de la Isla is Lauradis Salas, a centrl character of the film, who voyages back to Cuba after leaving in 2002 as part of the Cuban Visa Lottery to see the family she left behind.

Lejos de la Isla, is an undoubtedly emotionally charged documentary that examines the ongoing crisis between both the people of Cuba and Cuban exilic communities that exist throughout the U.S.

Lejos de la Isla Official Release Trailer 2007

Add to My Profile | More Videos

For more on the making of "Lejos de la Isla", click here.

The Apostle of Cuban Freedom

Deja Vu

More than 2,000 Venezuelans received U.S. asylum in 2004 and 2005, figures newly released by the Office of Immigration Statistics indicate. In 1997 -- the year before Chávez was first elected -- only nine Venezuelans received asylum in the United States.

Parallels in Alejandro Costa's family history are unsettling.

His father, José Costa Moure, fled to Venezuela in 1959 after Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba. And after concluding that Castro's ally in Caracas, President Hugo Chávez, was turning Venezuela into another Cuba, Costa fled Venezuela in 2004.

We know, this is just the beginning. The Miami Herald story is here.

Cuban journalist tells her story

I just posted at Uncommon Sense an e-mail interview I did with Cuban independent journalist Aini Martín Valero of the Cuba-Verdad news agency on the island.

Valero, 34, has been an independent journalist since late 2005, and despite harassment by the police, including several arrests, she remains committed to her work, and to a free Cuba.

As Ziva wrote in the comments, Valero's "bravery is stunning and humbling."

It was an honor to help her tell her story.

(And thank you, Val, for asking me to post this.)

Fret not, Cuban-Americans!!!

If youve got family still on the island, I've got some great news for you. According to MEDDIC - Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba - in their new "fact" based documentary "Salud!", Cuba's healthcare is so beyond awesome, so beyond great and excellent and wondrous, that you, dear Cuban exile, can ignore all those letters and calls from family members asking for all those medicines!

Imagine the money you'll save by not having to send that monthly shipment of aspirin and insulin and asthma medication and glycerine pills and all those other medical supllies youve been sending all these years. Cuba doesnt need them! They have the best healthcare system in the UNIVERSE!

So when you get that next call or letter from folks back in Cuba, laugh it off. They are just pulling your leg. They dont really need the synthroid or insulin or what not. Theyre just screwing with you. Just joshing. Kidding around.

It's all a joke.

More at the Real Cuba.

Al fin, coño!

Via Fausta, via the BBC, les presento mi isla al mediodia.

Perhaps the first blog from Cuba proper that is not rife with ideological dogma and is chock full of excellent writing. This story, in particular, is awesome.

A Friday Cubanism

It's been a long while since I do a Cubanism post so here goes:

Cubanism: No tiene nombre.

Literal Translation: Has no name.

Usage and Meaning: No tiene nombre is used as a superlative to describe something to or at its highest degree.

Example: La estupidez de hugo chavez no tiene nombre.

Translation: Hugo chavez's stupidity has no name.

Friday Fast for Cuban Political Prisnoer

If Cuban prisoner of conscience Próspero Gaínza can sew his mouth shut as a defiant and symobolic gesture of protest, we can all show solidarity by fasting every Friday for our incarcerated brothers and sisters on the island.

More thoughts on Kordavision

I wanted to add a few more thoughts about the film Kordavision that Val, Robert and I went to see at FIU yesterday. There was a part of the film where they talked about a famous photograph that Korda took called La niña de la muñeca de palo or The girl with the doll made of wood. This was after fidel had assumed power and Korda had become a "revolutionary" photographer. The explanation Korda gives in the film is that he saw the girl and approached her. He saw that she was scared of him so he stopped some 3-4 meters from her and then snapped this picture.

The photograph became a very powerful image. Korda says in the film that the idea that there were little girls in Cuba who didn't have dolls and had to make due with a log deeply saddened him and reaffirmed his committment to the Revolution. As I heard those words I immediately thought "As if all the little girls in Cuba have dolls today, 48 years later, pft!" The legend of the picture grows because Korda claims that as a result of the revolution the girl was able to get an education and become a nurse before she died of an "incurable disease" in her early 20s.

If you do a google image search for "Cuban Kids" or "Niños Cubanos" you'll see photos that fall into two categories: smiling kids wearing their "pioneer uniforms" or smiling shirtless, shoeless kids. Maybe they are playing stickball with a branch and a rock wrapped in tape. The kids are smiling because, well because they are kids and they don't know they are poor.

48 years later and all of the promises of the Revolution remain unfulfilled. In Cuba there is equality. Scarcity is spread equally among the masses of people that aren't fortunate enough to rank high enough to have some minimal perks or to have relatives outside the country that send them cash. It's all equal you see, but to paraphrase Orwell, some people are more equal than others. I wonder if the woman who was once that little girl in the sad photo died of an "incurable disease" or because the great equal healthcare she received wasn't as good as the kind that the dying tyrant has had to preserve his well being all of these years.

fidelandia, Tourism Mecca

Most of the time, you read an entire article or editorial about Cuba and get the standard point by point yadayada directly from the castro playbook. But sometimes, even the most fidel loving of reporters or the most slanted of wire services leaves a little golden nugget of truth for us without even knowing it.

To wit, this quote from Reuters from a European travel agent, vis-a-vis travel to Cuba:

“As long as Fidel is alive, the situation will be stable. If anything happens to him, I would be worried,” he said.

Now, Im not saying that this is why the Cuban government has made no anouncement if fidel castro is already swimming with the fishes. Maybe it isnt just concern over a mass exodus of Cubans or Cubans rioting in the streets. For raul and company, maybe it's all about el cash.

Una mentirita, por favor...

Photo via Trek Earth.

Where's fidel?

Venezuelan clown says castro "almost trotting like a horse".

Just thinking of Caballo " trotting" in front of supporters reminds me of this:

Make sure you turn up your speaker volume.

Finally, Freedom

Just received the photos of the 19 rafters that arrived in Key West yesterday:

Kordavision in Puke-O-Rama

As Val mentioned in his post, tonight he, Robert and I went to FIU to conduct a peaceful protest of what we thought was going to be an exhibit of photographs by Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez who is better known as "Korda". Korda is the guy that took the famous picture of ernesto "ché" guevara that adorns everything from t-shirts to baby clothes. But it wasn't an exhibit, it was a film about Korda called Kordavision by a self-described Chicano named Hector Cruz Sandoval.

We were wearing T-Shirts with these designs on the front:

And this design on the back:

We decided to go in and watch the film. I'm always curious to see how Cuba, fidel and the Revolution are are portrayed in films, even if I suspect that it's going to be favorable propaganda. Besides if I didn't see the film, I wouldn't be able to tell you fine folks about it. As I entered the auditorium I was offered a small bag of popcorn which I gladly accepted since I was famished. Cruz Sandoval was standing at a podium, I guess introducing the film, when I made my way down the center aisle to the front. I'm pretty sure he saw my shirt which was the one with the guy with the gun in his hand standing over the dead man. I was close enough that he could see what it was and what it said. I may have imagined it but he stammered a little when he saw it.

So we sat down and the opening credits hadn't even finished rolling when Val leaned over to me and said "I gotta go." I understand his reaction completely. The "slate" at the beginning of the movie said it's 93 minutes long and I just couldn't see Val sitting through 93 minutes of ché worship. But Robert and I were still curious enough to want to watch it.

The movie is basically a hagiography of Korda that talks about his photography and "photo-journalism" set to the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution. The problem, as one might expect, from my standpoint, is that it doesn't explore the realities of that backdrop. The movie makes no attempt to judge the subject of Korda's photography. In that sense the film is woefully inadequate. I mean what does it mean to create beautiful art in the service of your government if in the end your government is a corrupt murderous dictatorship?

Korda comes across as unexpectedly likeable for a devout follower of fidel castro. The truth is that one can't help but feel sorry for him. He was either duped into believing the party line, convinced himself to believe it in order to live a slightly better life than his fellow Cubans (the movie shows that he was clearly famous and revered) or was cynnical enough to say the right things about ché, fidel, and the Revolution even if he didn't believe them. Perhaps a combination of the three. In my business, which is advertising, someone once told me that there's three reasons to work for a client: 1. Because they can make you rich (they pay well). 2. They can make you famous (you can do high visibility work that gets noticed). or 3. They can make you happy (you really believe in the product). I suspect Korda felt an obligation to the Revolution because it made him famous.

The lowlight of the film is an appearance by "President" fidel castro himself. Cruz Sandoval was able to arrange a meeting between Korda, his photographer friends and castro, all with the cameras rolling. Even though it was filmed years ago, fidel looks really old in the film. His hair and beard were an unnatural blue that screamed "Grecian Formula." There's a segment in which he talks about his personal health and the regimen he adheres to for health reasons. He even endorses PPG wholeheartedly as a treatment for high cholesterol. Of course the substance has since been debunked of having any therapeutic qualities. Like most things coming out castro's Cuba, PPG was nothing more than a fraud.

The movie closes with some melodramatic scenes from Korda's funeral.

When the Q&A began, I jumped up and went to the microphone. I asked 2 questions:

1. I noticed that you referred to fidel castro as "President" in the film. I was wondering what you think entitles him to be addressed by that title since, to my knowledge, he's never been democratically elected to any office, not even dog-catcher, in any country?

2. You use a lot of Catholic imagery in the beginning of the film. I am a Catholic, and as you know the Church is against capital punishment. So am I. So my question to you is do you believe in capital punishment because ché guevara, the subject the iconization in your film, was responsible for the executions of the more than 150 people whose names are on the back of my shirt?

Predictably he didn't address the first question and in response to the second he said that he is a Catholic and doesn't believe in the death penalty but that guevara wasn't a Catholic so that the question was not really relevant. This is the kind of non-sequitir answer you often get from castro apologists when you confront them with uncomfortable truths. The question wasn't whether ché believed what he was doing was immoral, but whether Hector Cruz Sandoval believed what ché did was immoral. To that, he gave a half-hearted reply that any time you have a revolution that blood is shed. I explained that there is a difference between killing in a Revolutionary war and killing once you have assumed power. The uncomfortable truth here is that the castro regime became worse than the regime it replaced in this sense.

There was a lot more Q&A and made some more points which I can't remember right now but what was really interesting is that one of the audience members was Korda's grandson. He made a comment that he had seen the film 2 years before and that now watching it a second time he felt that it was a manipulation of the truth. Cruz Sandoval (either purposely or innocently) interpreted the comment as an accusation that the film had been changed in the intervening 2 years. But Korda's grandson clarified that it was his interpretation that changed.

When I was leaving, Korda's grandson said to me "I like your shirt. And I'm inclined to agree with it." This exchange made me glad I stayed. Here's a guy with every possible motivation to be an apologist for ché, fidel and the Revolution (they made his grandfather famous) and instead he's rejecting them.

In the end the movie gets a thumbs down from me. It could have been more interesting if it had explored the psychology of Korda and his emotional investment in what Cruz Sandoval admitted in the Q&A is a failed Revolution. If there had been some factual historical context about the events that are the backdrop to Korda's career. Instead of a balanced documentary about a complicated person living in a complicated time in a complicated country, we get this very favorable impression of an "artist" living in what is basically a painted theater set. A discerning viewer of the film might be able to detect the differences between pre-castro Cuba, as illustrated in archival footage and Korda's pre-Revolutionary fashion photography and the Cuba in the 21st century with it's shoeless and shirtless children playing in the street, decaying buildings, etc. but you really have to be looking for it. For his part Cruz Sandoval says that he didn't attempt to sanitize modern Cuba and I suppose that's true but as I said, he didn't specifically point out those differences.

This world disgusts me

The plan was to go to tonight's Korda exhibit at Florida International University donning tshirts with photographs of che guevara's real legacy: death, murder, assasinations. Unfortunately, I neglected to read the fine print and didnt realize it wasnt an exhibit of photographs, but the screening of a documentary. Still, Henry, Robert and I went and sat down at the theater on campus and decided to stay for the film.

I could stomach only up to the credits, specifically, where they said "and special guest appearance by el Comandante fidel castro."

I looked at Henry, told him, "that's it. Im done." I got up and started to leave the theater. As I made my way up the center aisle, movie still running behind me, I felt the bile build up in my stomach. Felt it start to brew there, beads of sweat formulating on my forehead. By the time I'd reached the entrance doors, I was already throwing up in my mouth. I barely made it to the men's room.

As I type this, Henry and Robert are still there and I'm here at home and all I can think about is that I need to apologize to my parents for not doing a better job, for not spending more time, for not having a stronger voice and for having failed them. Failed to tell their story and failed to show the world what pure hatred like that espoused by fidel castro and che guevara, etal, does to one's soul.

The plight and suffering of generations of Cubans have been relegated to obscurity by a beard, a beret and a grin.

Cuban Human Rights Lawyer Threatened With Jail

From Human Rights First:

What's At Stake? Cuban Human Rights Lawyer Threatened With Jail

Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva is a human rights lawyer and President of the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights, a human rights monitoring group that exposes human rights violations by the government and reports on attacks against peaceful activists and independent journalists. Gonzalez Leiva also established and heads the Independent Fraternity for the Blind in Cuba, which advocates for the rights of the physically disabled. As a staunch advocate for freedom of expression, he has also created several independent press agencies and founded various independent libraries in Cuba.

Gonzalez Leiva frequently speaks out on behalf of other activists and journalists who have come under threat. In particular, he has called international attention to the situation of political prisoners in Cuba, including those imprisoned in the spring of 2003, and has denounced the substandard conditions and treatment the prisoners have received.

In March 2002, Gonzalez Leiva was arrested in Ciego de Avila, along with seven other activists and journalists. They were at a hospital, visiting a colleague who had been beaten by state security agents and police when he tried to attend a monthly meeting of the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights. During their visit, Gonzalez Leiva and several others prayed for their colleague and shouted "Long live human rights." When the hospital staff asked them to stop, they immediately resumed their quiet vigil. Soon after, state security police arrived and dragged the activists out of the hospital and arrested them. Gonzalez Leiva was apparently beaten during this incident and required four stitches in a wound on his forehead.

After 26 months in pre-trial detention, during which he was reportedly held in substandard conditions, Gonzalez Leiva and nine other activists were put on trial. In April 2004 Gonzalez Leiva was sentenced to four years of house arrest on charges of disrespect for authority, public disorder, disobedience, and resisting arrest.

Since then, Gonzalez Leiva and his family have been subject to harassment, intimidation, and violence on the part of government officials and mobs of civilians (who are widely believed to be organized by the government) who have repeatedly surrounded his home for hours at a time, shouting threats and banging on windows.

Take action here.

Perfeccionamiento empresarial

That's the new term being tossed about by Cuban "economists" as shown in this Reuters piece:

Cuban army weighs in on economic policy debate

Tue 23 Jan 2007 21:28:01 GMT
By Marc Frank

HAVANA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Cuba's armed forces, which run the Communist country's most efficient companies, joined a nascent public debate on future economic policy on Tuesday and appeared to take a stance opposed to full free-market reforms.

The debate, said to be prompted by acting President Raul Castro while his ailing brother Fidel Castro recovers from surgery, is aimed at finding solutions for the most glaring problems of an economy 90-percent owned by the state.

Col. Amando Perez Betancourt, the head of the Cuban military's effort to make state-run companies more profitable, said profits, wages and productivity had been raised in more than 800 companies by applying methods known in Cuba as "perfeccionamiento empresarial" -- roughly translated as perfecting of the (state) company system.

"If you ask me what the most important task facing the state companies is, I would say it is better organization and the way to do that is through perfecting the state company system," Perez told the Communist Party newspaper Granma.

In any ordinary country with an ordinary economy and an ordinary work force, "perfeccionamiento empresarial" would mean something to the effect of "increasing efficiency and/or productivity". But in Cuba, where everything is owned and run by the state, including the workforce, perfeccionamiento empresarial is nothing more and nothing less than the masters whipping their slaves to work harder at the plantation.

Phillip Peters, of the Lexington Institute, believes this "would benefit Cuba's economy to carry out the process fully."

But he's wrong, as the money quote from the article proves:

The economy suffers also from chronic disorganization, poor accounting, low quality, lax discipline and graft.

Of course it does. And no matter how much perfeccionamiento empresarial they manage to whip up on the island, the economy will not improve. Why?

Because the political system prevents or represses individual incentive, which is the driving force behind any economy. Without any free market reforms, which this article makes perfectly clear will not be taking place in Cuba and is the reason "perfeccionamiento empresarial" is being implemented, then what's in it for the workforce? Not a damned thing. So why should slaves work themselves raw if in the end it doesnt improve their lot in life?

La Contra Revolucion has more.

19 Cuban rafters arrive in US

Just received the following from a reliable source about 19 Cubans rafters that arrived in Key West this morning:

My morning report is late because this morning at 5:30 AM the base commander knocked on my door and asked me if I wanted to help with the 19 Cuban rafters that had just landed on our front yard.

What an experience! What beautiful people! There were two small boys, four women and 13 men. We provided them with soap, towels, chairs, and washed their clothes. The local police showed up with Cuban bread and coffee, and toys for the children.

The rafters were overjoyed! They wanted to know how long before they could get a job and were jittery with excitement at the world opened before them. Some of them reported that living under a system where you fear the police and the state 24 hours a day is not living, and to not be able to enjoy the fruit of your own labor is the worst form of slavery.

They were on the water only 25 hours. They gathered their money and resources and built an incredibly well-crafted boat out of flattened irrigation aluminum pipes, Fiberglas and a four-cylinder Peugeot motor. They had tried to depart twice before but experienced mechanical problems. On this occasion the motor worked like a charm.

One of the ladies in the group reported that she had been arrested by the police several days prior under suspicion of participating in the organization of an illegal departure from the country. She kept her composure and denied everything. Since they could not find any evidence, they released her. That night, all 19 of them got back on the boat again and left.

They stated that they are now and forever a single family of 19. They enjoyed taking pictures with the boat and the various officers that were in the area.

I made a pact with them. We are going to meet back here a year from now to celebrate the first anniversary of their arrival with a pig roast, yucca, black beans and white rice.

In the midst of all the commotion we managed to hold a “barrio-debate,” or a “matutino,” or an “asamblea popular,” call it what you may, and they proved to be very aware of the opportunity and dangers of the freedoms afforded to them in this country. They seemed to understand that their main limitation is their own drive and commitment to work hard and make a good, even if humble, living. They were very keen on the peace of mind of knowing themselves free.

In short, it was a typically Cuban “happening.” They were all over the place, talking at a hundred words per minute, including me.

To one side, sat one of the family groups, a man, his wife and their little boy. I saw the wife put her hand on the man’s back and ask: “Papo, are you crying?” And indeed he was. The other guys started to make fun of him and that was the end of that!

It is truly not possible to see a man crying out of happiness and to not share his tears.

God bless and guide them all!

Update: here's a picture of their "boat":

We'll try to have some pictures of the families as soon as possible.

Why care?

I've been meaning to post a link to this excellent piece over at Cubanology. You may have already read it, and if so, its' well worth reading it again, if you havent, you'll be glad you did:

Cuba: Why I Care By Claudia Fanelli 1/20/2007

I am not Cuban. I don’t attempt or pretend to be. I am Italian-American, the granddaughter of economic, not political, immigrants. As a result of my background, the concept of political immigration was foreign to me until I met my Cuban-born Spanish professors in college twenty years ago. Even so, knowing them as well as I did but never discussing their ordeals, I had only marginal knowledge of Cuban history. With regard to the Cuban exile experience, well, let’s just say that if I didn’t hear it from Tony Montana, then I didn’t know about it. My ignorance was never questioned much since I live in Pennsylvania where the Cuban population is sparse. However, now that Cuban history and literature are part of the high school Spanish curriculum where I teach, I felt compelled to know more than what the student textbook told me. Books, Blogs, movies, documentaries and talking to Cubans have helped me to understand what is so seemingly foreign a concept to the average American: the current situation in Cuba.

Other teachers ask me questions about Cuba and while I am in no way an authority, I do my best and get an answer if I don’t have one. You see, my colleagues have no clue about what is going on in Cuba, and until I began talking to them, they really didn’t care to know. Perhaps they are relieved that I keep abreast of what is taking place so that they don’t have to. After all, Cuba is barely a blip on the radar of most Americans. I am always sure to inform the curious about the suffering and the human rights violations that are taking place in Cuba as a result of a 48-year death grip on the country and her people. I cite my sources when I need to and I state statistics when challenged by a fan of Fidel. Once presented with the propaganda espoused by Hollywood and parroted by those who swallow it, I unload the litany of contradictions as well as the endless list of human and civil rights violations that people who don’t live in Miami either don’t know or choose not to acknowledge.

Trust me, you'll want to read the whole thing.

Here's a clue for the clueless...

Anyone that comes to this blog and posts a comment stating something like: "Batista will never be back" or "you just want to go back to the Batista days" or something to that effect is an idiot and you will be treated as such.

Not only have you not understood what this blog is about, but you are utterly clueless about our work here. To state, aver or imply that we want another Batista ruling Cuba is not only an insult but a cheap, unlearned attempt to denigrate and criticize me, the contibutors of this blog and our readers.

So, do us all a favor, take your Batista comments and your blinding stupidity and cram them.

Kill me now.

Today was supposed to be my first day as a non-smoker. Yes, that's right, I quit smoking on my 42nd birthday.

That lasted...oh...I'd say about 4 hours.

The Battle of Ideas

That's the battle that the castro government always claims to be winning. It must be a rather one sided fight, though. Not because of a lack of dissenting ideas, but because of the prevention of their expression. The banning and burning of books is just one way the castro regime prevents the airing of opinions and individual ideas.

The following is a press release from FREADOM:

Authors and Librarians Say "Read A Burned Book"

International Read A Burned Book Campaign Launched

Some of the most famous Cuban writers have joined with the head of Cuba'smajor independent library group in endorsing a new "Read A Burned Book" campaign, aimed at getting high school and college students to read the books which Fidel Castro has ordered burned.

"Castro can destroy everything, except for books," said legendary Cuban revolutionary and author, Carlos Franqui. "He may censor, ban or even burn them, but the ideas contained in books can never be destroyed."

"As José Martí once said, paper trenches are stronger than those built in stone," said Franqui, a former confidante of Castro, and the editor of one of the hundreds of books that were ordered burned in 2003.

"In our homes, the homes of many of us who promote liberty and the defense of human rights in Cuba, books are frequently confiscated," said Gisela Delgado Sablon, the Director of the Independent Library Project of Cuba. "Among those have been books about Martin Luther King Jr., the great American civic fighter who fought for the rights of blacks."

Sablon, speaking from a phone in Havana, said books like Kings "are regarded as dangerous to society," and she justified the need for independent libraries because readers have access "only to what the government designates for them to read."

"The Read A Burned Book effort is a unique reading and human rights classroom project that's geared to get young people discussing the question "Why do tyrants burn books?", said Walter Skold, the co-chair of FREADOM, the group of librarians and authors which has launched the campaign.

"We are thrilled that so many well-know authors have supported this effort and we hope many high school classes will catch the fire of reading and debating the "dangerous" ideas that Castro feared," he said.

"It's an act of freedom to find intact copies of books that have been burned or banned (in Cuba as well as the United States and elsewhere), to open the pages, and to READ" said Kathlyn Gay, the author of the young adult book Leaving Cuba: Operation Pedro.

"Thousands of Cubans have risked their lives to reach American soil and freedom," said Gay, adding that such freedom "Does not exist in Cuba, where books are deliberately burned to suppress ideas and information."

Sablon's husband, Hector Palacios, who was just released from prison, added his support to the effort, along with such internationally-respected authors as Armando Valladares, Carlos Eire, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Nat Hentoff, and Alvaro Llosa.

For his part, Alvaro Llosa said Cuba's persecuted independent librarians remind him "Of the heroes of "Fahrenheit 451"--Truffaut's famous film based on Ray Bradbury's novel--who set out to memorize an entire collection of books in order to prevent the tyranny that has decided to burn them from obliterating literature."

Court transcripts reveal that in the infamous one day show trials of 75 Cuban dissidents in 2003, thousands of books were ordered "incinerated", including books by or about George Orwell, Carlos Franqui, Pope John Paul II, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Vaclav Havel, Oswaldo Paya, Human Rights Watch, and many others.

The sentencing documents which outline the orders to burn "subversive" books were placed on the "Rule of Law and Cuba" website at Florida State University, in 2003, and have been verified by Amnesty International, the Organization of American States, and other human rights groups.

The posting of the documents was covered in the Florida press at the time, but the news of the book burning was not widely reported elsewhere.

Communist-Party appointed officials who head the State-controlled library association in Havana continue to tell international librarians that the charges are false and that Amnesty International cannot be trusted.

President Jimmy Carter gave Palacios a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., on his historic trip to Cuba in 2002, but that book was later confiscated from the Dulce María Loynaz Library in their home when Palacios was arrested and jailed in Castro's nationwide crackdown against dissent in 2003.

"Cuba is one of the very few governments today that answers dissent by turning ideas into ashes" said Freadom co-chair and longtime Amnesty International activist from Minnesota, Dr. Steve Marquardt. "Other works describing King's tactics of civil disobedience have also been consigned to the flames."

In a report, "Martin Luther King, Jr.,: Burned in Cuba, Marquardt points out that in the April, 2003 trial of independent librarian, Luis Milan Fernandez, judges ordered a book about Dr. King "destroyed", with many other books and magazines, because of their "little value."

"They tell me that books sent to me from abroad have been confiscated because they are counterrevolutionary and because they threaten the interests of the Cuban nation," says Sablon, who spoke on behalf of nearly 100 independent librarians in Cuba, some of whom are still in prison.

"How can a book threaten the nation when it contains poetry, stories, or the personal experiences of its author?" she asks.

In the case of a 1995 biography of Dr. King, by author Vincent Roussel, the court declared its concern that the content of that particular book "is based on ideas that could be used to promote social disorder and civil disobedience."

"By reading books that were ordered burned in Cuba and in other nations, and by grappling with the ideas presented by the authors," said Skold, who teaches in a middle school, "Young people can come to their own conclusions as to why dictators like Castro often destroy "dangerous" books."

For those young people who do complete the classroom activities Freadom has created, the feisty Sablon has her own message.

In her statement she said that the relationship between Cuban and Americans "is renewed every generation, and this is what these young Americans are doing through their support."

"I applaud them for defending the basic liberties that all peoples should enjoy."

Read more about it here and here.

Ive been threatened with a lawsuit

Just received an email letter from a local law firm threatening to sue me for "slander and libel" for comments made on a post here at Babalu where we published someone's letter to a local media entity. Said letter made statements about a certain person in the employ of said media entity and said person, via his or her attorneys is demanding a retraction, a correction and a full and public apology for this blog's publication of said letter.

I've forwarded said letter from the local law firm to my attorneys for their review and comment.

What I find most illuminating, however, is the fact that said person in said media entinty's employ - while claiming that said letter previously published here has been injurous to his or her career, reputation, safety and well being, and which has caused great anguish, pain and suffering, and emotional distress - has not and did not see fit to respond to, clarify or deny said allegations made in the original letter personally or contact me directly, but opted to pursue this as a legal matter through which the ultimate outcome would be not to address said "libelous" allegations, but to silence and quash the opinions as expressed herein by myself and others.

When were the castro brothers ever elected?

A Cuban diplomat said the the World Trade Organization should "take a position on the legality of the embargo laws and measures" that the United States has maintained against the communist-ruled island for more than four decades.

I'll go one better; maybe the WTO should take a postition on the legality of the 48 year rule of fidel and raul castro. How can they claim legitimacy, they were never elected, and how can a "revolution" last for 48 years?

The story is here.

A soft people

I am depressed. Not the clinical variety, where a myriad of medications would take the edge off my personality and turn me into a no-persanality moderate. No, I am politically and intellectually depressed. A common condition, I think, in these halcyon days of liberal ascendancy, where I see very little hope of a sunrise after the sunset of November 7, 2006. I am depressed about the future course our country will take. I am depressed because I see the instability (for lack of a better word) that awaits our version of the 1930s and 40s rushing toward us, with all its attendant violence and intensity.

Today, I heard Rush Limbaugh read a column that is spot-on about the crises we face. I think it nails our condition (and the principal cause of my depression) pretty accurately. It is titled "Soft people, hard people" and it is written by Selwyn Duke. Your comments are enthusiastically requested.

If the 1976 western The Last Hard Men has it right, we Occidentals metamorphosed into jellyfish sometime around the early twentieth century. Although this title is more movie marketing than historical statement, there may be something to it. After all, Robert Baden-Powell, a lieutenant general in the British Army, was motivated by the belief that western boys were becoming too soft when he originated the Boy Scouts in 1907.

Regardless of the origin and rapidity of our transition from he-men to she-men, one thing is for certain: We have become a very soft people.

When pondering this, I think about how it is now common to see men cry publicly. Just recently George Bush Sr. broke down while rendering a speech, something unthinkable a generation ago. Why, presidential aspirant Edmund Muskie saw his campaign scuttled by a few inopportune tears in 1972. And before you score me for not embracing the metrosexual model, remember the impression this gives the rest of the world. Feminization may be fashionable, but it doesn't engender respect among the more patriarchal peoples.

Then I think about our unwillingness to discipline our children, something to which our jungle-like schools bear witness. And should someone use punitive measures harsher than the euphemistically named "time-out" — something that may actually work — he is often excoriated for damaging the little darlings' "self-esteem." And a spanking? Perish the thought. We're told this could scar a child irreparably (although we seldom ponder the ravages of pickling a young brain with Ritalin), and the idea is so foreign to many parents they cannot even conceive of placing a hand on their cherubim's sanctified little posteriors.

In contrast, the people of the Third World — and especially the Moslem fanatics who have designs on the West — are hard as stone. We fret over the fact that Saddam Hussein endured some taunts during his execution, while next door in Saudi Arabia they may still chop off the hand of a thief. We cater to the religious wants of incarcerated terrorists, providing everything from the Koran and prayer rugs to desired foods, and the soft set still laments the terrible privation these poor victims must endure. In contrast, the terrorist's brethren often disallow the practice of other religions in the Abode of Islam. We let illegal aliens run roughshod over our nation, sometimes bestowing government benefits upon them, then still feel guilty about not exalting them sufficiently. In the Third World, however, foreigners are often treated like second-class citizens. Under the Mexican Constitution, one foreign-born will never enjoy the full rights of citizenship. In many Moslem societies, a certain kind of second-class status is reserved for "infidels"; it's called dhimmitude.

All this is not surprising. After all, luxury and living high soften the sinews and, regrettably, sometimes also the head. The hand that spends its entire existence inside a velvet glove will remain soft and delicate. The one wielding workmen's tools dawn till dusk becomes calloused and hard, more able to inflict injury and more resistant to it.

I know, I know what's coming. That's what makes us better than the nations in question, proclaim some, allowing themselves a rare foray into the realm of cultural superiority (what ever happened to the notion that all cultures are morally equal?). As for me, I'm not awash in moral relativism, but neither do I fall victim to blind cultural chauvinism. For, anyone who believes we have a monopoly on virtue is living in a fantasy-world of smug self-delusion. Don't get me wrong, we are better in some very significant ways, but also worse in a few ominous ones. We lack certain manly virtues, qualities on which national survival may hinge.

There is an immutable truth of human nature: When soft people clash with hard people, the soft are vanquished. That is, unless they become harder.

People may laugh. That's crazy, say they, we have the greatest military in the world, the most advanced technology, and a nuclear umbrella. Yes, that's true. But first, I don't claim we'll fall tomorrow, next month, or next year. Even more significantly, though, external enemies would not initiate our undoing. The fact is that no body, no matter how strong, imposing and well-armored, can survive an untreated disease metastasizing rapidly within. The smallest bacteria can kill giants as easily as dwarves.

And that is what ails us. Every time an action designed to preserve western civilization is taken or even proposed, a great internecine battle ensues. We capture combatants on the battlefield and then spend millions in legal fees debating whether to adjudicate their cases in civil or military courts. We rightly scrutinize Imams making a scene at an airport and then spend millions more arguing about so-called "racial profiling." And it's incessant. Every act nowadays, from singling out illegals for deportation and the suspicious for scrutiny to getting swatted by "Tigger" to a six-year-old boy giving a girl a peck on the cheek, is met with hand-wringing and a disproportionate reaction. And far too often litigation results, costing us valuable resources.

And let's be very clear: Every dollar in currency and passion we spend on litigation is one less we have to fight those who would see us in ashes. This means fewer resources — in terms of not just money but also attention and zeal — to secure our borders, ensure domestic tranquility and root out terrorists within and without. A united people would confront threats as a monolithic front; we are expending ourselves fighting a cold civil war. And the end result is that the lawyers get richer, we get weaker, and the hard people, waiting and watching in the darkness, laugh louder.

Lest I be misunderstood, I don't suggest we become the Hunnish Empire. It's noble to recognize that Saddam Hussein's tormentors might have demonstrated more dignity. It's a sign of civilization to expect our troops to behave as professional soldiers, not rampaging warriors. And it's most divine to realize all God's children are valuable in His eyes. But to the excesses of justice, correction or interrogation, we react not with measured admonition but with hysteria. Our civility should be the fruits of manly virtue, but it's the putrescence of pusillanimity.

And here I think of G.K. Chesterton's profound description of our condition:

"Nowadays, we have Christian values floating around detached from one another. Consequently, we see scientists who care only about truth but have no pity, and humanitarians who care only about pity but have no truth."

The Moslem world is one extreme, we are the other, the humanitarians who have no truth. Why can't we control seven-year-olds, prosecute a war efficiently or strike fear into the hearts of criminals? It's all for the same reason. We're soft-headed pseudo-humanitarians to whom the kind of action or punishment necessary to deter evil behavior seems medieval. This is why we had a national conniption when teenage vandal Michael Faye was to receive a typical Singaporean punishment, caning, for his misdeeds. We should bear in mind that you can walk Singapore's streets safely in the dark of night. The same cannot be said of ours.

Oh, this is just the price of freedom, some say? They are wrong. This is the price of abused freedom.

You may think I'm missing the boat, that the problem lies not with the weak but with the malicious, those who are the enemy within. And, of course, but for their meddlesome hands, we wouldn't be at this precipice. But a minority tyrannizes only at the deference of the majority. For instance, if enough of us rejected the media that disseminated footage of Abu Ghraib far and wide while refusing to show Muslim beheadings, we'd not have reporters who were more internationalist than nationalist.

And a juxtaposition of Abu Ghraib and Moslem beheadings tells the tale, as too many of us are epitomized by panties while our adversaries are by swords. While they bat nary an eye at the torture of an innocent, we eat ourselves aliv