Thursday, July 3, 2008

Notable & Emasculating: Cubans Are "Cowards"

"What about the Romanians, who finally had enough of Ceausescu and overthrew their version of castro? What about the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, who fought against the SS and the Wermacht? They gave the world the example of how not to be a victim. They may have died but at least they died with dignity and not being herded into a shower stall to be gassed with Zyklon B. These were real men. The Jewish women who fought in 1943 had more balls than I am seeing today in Cuba. -- George L. Moneo, "A Topic for Tuesday (comment), Babalú, July 1, 2008.

Since his ouster from Babalú and subsequent rehabilitation, George Moneo follows Val Prieto's directives with more than canine devotion. Here he is seen buttressing Val's argument that "Cubans are their own worst enemies" by comparing them unfavorably to the Romanians who rose against Ceausescu and the Jews who rebelled in the Warsaw Ghetto. We should be grateful, I suppose, that he limited himself to these examples. He could have cited thousands of other cases of heroic resistance to tyranny in immemorial history and used those to belittle Cubans as well. At the same time, of course, George would have had to ignore the many signal examples of courage and sacrifice that the Cuban people have given the world in these last 50 years and throughout their history in order to be able to brand them as "cowards."

The two comparisons which he does allow himself are more than enough to show that he is not only ignorant of Cuban history but does not understand the real transcendence of the other cases.

1

The overthrow of Ceausescu did not happen in a vacuum. It would not have happened in 1956, 1968 or 1980 when the Soviet Union was at the height of its power. The implosion of Communism in the Soviet Union was the catalyst that led to the overthrow of Ceausescu. Without that impetus a mummified Ceausescu would be lying in state in his mausoleum on Revolution Square, in Bucharest, and his son Nico, an even more despicable version of Kim Jung Il, would still be raping women at state banquets except from the head of the table.

For Cuba, the fall of the Soviet Union, though catastrophic in its economic consequences, did not challenge the political structure because its survival did not depend on the Soviet brigade stationed in Cuba for 30 years. Castro relied instead on the Kennedy-Khrushchev pact, which has never been abrogated and which the U.S. upholds to this day, not to protect itself from Russia (successor to the treaty obligations of the old Soviet Union), but to maintain "stability" in Cuba.

In Fidel Castro the U.S. believes that it has found a reliable ally in its war against the Cuban people. So long as Castro can stifle the Cuban people's aspirations to be free and maintain absolute control over his subjects, avoiding such disruptions of comity as Mariel, the U.S. will continue to act as the guarantor of Communism in Cuba, as it has done since 1962; and American presidents will continue to blather and fulminate about "Cuba Libre" while maintaining in place all pacts, agreements, and policies intended to assure Castro's continued subjugation of the Cuban people.

I have never discounted the possibility that outside factors could achieve or hasten the overthrow of Castro as was the case with Ceausescu. The United States, however, is not going the way of the Soviet Union, and it is this country which installed Castro in power and has maintained him there since 1962 by what amounts to a contractual obligation.

If George expects that outside factors will as in Romania hasten Cuba's freedom, then he must be hoping for a convulsion in this country comparable to that which rocked the Soviet Union in 1989 and precipitated the collapse of Ceausescu and the other Eastern European satraps.

2

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was a great moment in the history of the human spirit, and the Jewish people have provided many such moments in the history of mankind. But its glory lies in the fact that it was a exception, not the norm. 750 Jews participated in the uprising. 6-11 million Jews were killed in the Nazi gas ovens without ever having had the opportunity to fight for their lives as the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto did. No one but the grossest and most insensitive of men would dare suggest that the Jews who did not fight the Nazis because they had no means to fight them "did not die with dignity" and are therefore less deserving of honor than those who did. So, too, is it offensive to allege that Cubans, who have upheld freedom's torch since the time of Yara (and before), are lacking the moral fortitude or spiritual greatness to challenge their own henchmen.

Why, then, aren't the Cubans who fought at the Bay of Pigs, Escambray and in a thousand actions, known and unknown, against the Castro regime since 1959, allowed to represent, as they undoubtedly do, the heroism and resistance of the Cuban people, as the Jewish defenders of the Warsaw Ghetto represent, and rightly so, the indomitable spirit of the Jewish people?

What does George mean when he writes that "[t]he Jewish women who fought in 1943 had more balls than I am seeing today in Cuba?" Those heroic Jewish women have their counterparts in Cuba in both men and women. Can anything be more despicable than to use one set of tyranny's victims to attack another? Frankly, when a man goes around questioning other men's balls he had better have more than the usual equipment himself. If he needs to use the metaphorical "balls" of women to accuse other men of cowardice, then one may suppose that his own are not suitable for that purpose.

The history of the Cuban people is told in centuries and the history of the Jewish people in millennia. This is a very important distinction to consider. Between Masada and the Warsaw Ghetto there is a distance of 1,870 years. The 50 years that Cubans have waited for their freedom is but a season in the history of the Jewish people. I doubt very much whether the mal that afflicts our country will last the thousand years of the proverb.

What is needed now is for the Cuban people not to shed their blood merely to sate the bloodlust of their detractors. Cubans don't need more martyrs; it is the one thing the Revolution has produced in quantity. What they do require is the means to make their resistance effectual. Until the United States decides that a free Cuba is in its best interests it will see to it that Cubans are denied those means. The recent arbitrary admission of North Korea (!) to the family of civilized nations shows that the U.S. can accept any degree of human degradation so long as the degraders do not cross certain propietary lines, or having crossed them have the prudence to effect a timely and beneficial retreat. The Castro regime knows the generous limits that the U.S. has granted it and will always fall exactly short of provoking its ire, which, for us, means a marriage of convenience between the two countries which must be dissolved before the great heroism of Cubans is rewarded with a proportionate measure of freedom.

29 comments:

Fantomas said...

US President George W. Bush will attend the August 8 opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino announced Thursday.
Bush, whom human rights activists had urged to boycott the opening gala, will also travel to South Korea and Thailand, she said in a statement that did not include specific travel dates.


If Bush can go to China why Not Obama to Cuba

Mat xplain

Fantomas said...

Ah y se me olvido decirte que Mc Cain fue a Vietnam y se entrevisto con sus carceleros

How about that for an encore

Anonymous said...

Val you are SO right.
Val you are SO right.

Moneo calling others cowards? Jajajajajajaaja! the poodle that has already started his annual dread of the hurricane season! Esta cagado already. Probably putting masking tape on windows now and under the bed until Bertha leaves the carribean.

Thursday, thought for the day.

I am brave, iam smart, I am TALL and by golly, I am worth something. Oh no, a hurreeecane is coming, the plane, the plane!

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

fantomas:

McCain did not meet with his Cuban torturers at the "Hanoi Hilton." That's a meeting which he's long anticipated.

McCain has a personal score to settle with the Castroites, which makes him unique among all present or past presidential candidates.

Anonymous said...

george is a pompous little brownnosing garden troll. Hide! the hurricne is coming. jajajajajaja

hey george, maybe Val will let you stay in his new kitchen if the hurricane comes. Just be nice to Valentin.

Anonymous said...

fanto,
me dijeron que te van a poner en el cabinete de Obama. Que puesto quieres brother?

Anonymous said...

George?

No thanks.

Anonymous said...

El valentín de Moneo.

Anonymous said...

If he needs to use the metaphorical "balls" of women to accuse other men of cowardice, then one may suppose that his own are not suitable for that purpose. jajaja!

pensamiento del jueves:

I am wise, I am smart, I am TALL and by golly, I am worth it. -george

Learn some spanish and get from under the table, hurricane bertha not here yet.

Anonymous said...

fanto,
me dijeron que te van a poner en el cabinete de Obama. Que puesto quieres brother?


ministerio de agricultura para revisar los mangos de Val.

Anonymous said...

Fantomas que le hicistes a Alex?

Anonymous said...

A fantomas lo van a nominar para Ministro de salud y belleza y superintendente de los beauty parlors

Anonymous said...

fanto,
me dijeron que te van a poner en el cabinete de Obama. Que puesto quieres brother?


Si Val coge a fantomas lo va a hacer clavo para el gabinete nuevo de el

Anonymous said...

Moneo se fue a la guerra,
¡qué dolor, qué dolor, qué pena! Moneo se fue a la guerra, no sé cuándo vendrá.

Anonymous said...

Mat, Fantomas asked you this question and yo did not answer him

If Bush can go to China why Not Obama to Cuba

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

The United States, unfortunately, maintains diplomatic relations with Communist China. Whatever differences existed between them in the past on such matters as the persecution of Christians or Tibetans have been forgotten in the warm glow of the money changer's lamp.

The Beijing Olympics are the Berlin Olympics of the 21st century. One day America's participation in the Beijing Games will be looked upon in the same light.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

I have already written on the Beijing Olympics:

http://reviewofcuban-americanblogs.blogspot.com/2007/11/1936-berlin-olympics-redux-or-when-in.html

Anonymous said...

Answer this one

I know you can't

lol

Anonymous said...

If Bush can go to China why Not Obama to Cuba?

Centurion said...

"The Jewish women who fought in 1943 had more balls than I am seeing today in Cuba"

"today": how about yesterday georgee boy ... yes your family -- that left soon after castro took over --

Centurion said...

regarding bushy boy going to China.

what else can you expect from a puppet ?

Anonymous said...

serafin you went to hong kong, what gives'

Anonymous said...

If Bush can go to China why Not Obama to Cuba?

Mat, Fantomas presented the question, you eluded it

Anonymous said...

alex hernandez aka anonymous aka bodybuilder with the small dick

Is that 2 inches hard or soft

Anonymous said...

one inch hard just ask manuel he knows

Fantomas said...

letting bygones be bygones


Senator John McCain's visit to Vietnam


April 26, 2000 - VN/US relations

US senator John McCain congratulated the Vietnamese people over the achievements, they had recorded by and said he wished the two countries would sign a trade treaty soon.

Mr McCain was speaking at a reception given to him by National Assembly Chairman Nong Duc Manh in Hanoi on April 26.

Mr McCain thanked Vietnam for its efficient collaboration and assistance in seeking the remains of US servicemen listed as missing in action during the American war. As the nation commemorated the 25 years of Vietnam�s victory, it was time for the two countries to look forward to the future by strengthening economic and trade ties.

Mr Manh said he was glad at the positive development of the bilateral relations over the past few years, particularly after the visit of the US Defence Secretary, William Cohen. Mr Manh said he highly valued the humanitarian assistance given by the US, especially to the victims of last year�s severe floods in the central region.

Mr Manh affirmed Vietnam attaches great importance to co-operating with the US in the principle of letting bygones be bygones and looking forward to the future in the interest of the people of both nations and for peace, friendship and co-operation in the world. Mr Manh affirmed Vietnam�s determination to boost its overall renovation to reach the target of a rich people, a powerful country, and an equitable and civilised society.

Mr Manh made clear that the heavy aftermath of the war was still being felt in the country, particular the consequences of the Agent Orange sprayed by the US army. Mr Manh said that the US should bear responsibility for the consequences of the American war and it should help Vietnam address the consequences.

Mr Manh also said that Vietnam and the US need to continue exchanging views and overcome obstacles to sign a bilateral trade treaty and, once the treaty was signed, the National Assembly would soon consider and ratify it. Mr Manh stressed that the current focus of the two countries� relations was on economy and trade. Mr Manh said he hoped that with his position, senator McCain would make further contributions to boost bilateral relations, including that between the two legislative bodies.

Senator McCain Hopes for Trade Agreement

On April 25 in Hanoi, Senator McCain was received by Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien.

US Senator John McCain said he was pleased with the development in the relationship between the United States and Vietnam and hoped a bilateral trade agreement would be signed soon between the two countries.

Mr Nguyen Dy Nien welcomed the senator's visit to Vietnam, saying that the Party and government of Vietnam will continue firmly with the doi moi (renovation) process to integrate economically into the region and the world.

The minister drew the senator�s attention to the consequences caused by the war, which ended 25 years ago. He said he hoped the senator, with his influence and public standing, would do something to help overcome those consequences, especially the aftermath of Agent Orange sprayed by US aircraft during the Vietnam War.


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Fantomas said...

McCain has a personal score to settle with the Castroites,
Es el mismo score que bush hijo vengo de el padre por no atacar a iraq despues de la invasion a Kuwait

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

fantomas:

Wonderful, isn't it?

McCain has a score to settle with Castro.

Oh, happy portent!

Anonymous said...

Being Cuban myself but not raised in Miami , the most treacherous , backstabbing , machines of gossip , ethnic voting ingrates which the USA should have never taken in I have found in the Miami Cuban community .

I saw nothing remotely positive about most of those people when I lived there .

The police there might be one of the most racist in all of Florida against anyone with dark skin but they get a free pass since Hispanic / Cuban .

Not all are like that but sadly plenty .