Global Hypocrisy

I am feeling a little lethargic today - got the blahs - locked the door of the shop because I have kind of had it with people, ever have one of those days? I have been thinking about a few things and thought maybe I could write my way out of my malaise. If this doesn't work I start self medicating, pronto.

Anyway I have been mentally ranting and thinking about two different locations, Africa, and Cuba. In Zimbabwe, Mugabe is starting his tired act again and wont release election results that pretty clearly show that he has lost. He has proclaimed that the opposition will never rule in Zimbabwe. Now armed thugs are patrolling the rural areas beating up opposition supporters. And in today's paper, one of his chief enablers, Mbeki in South Africa, says that he sees no problem with the election.

Mugabe is one of the nastiest dictators in the world and has decimated what once was the "Breadbasket of Africa". They have 100,000% inflation. Total disaster. He has embarked on a horrible and successful racist campaign to strip whites in his country of their land holdings and has ruled with an iron and deadly fist. Now I remember when Rhodesia was a success story and a paradigm of integration. Stevie Wonder may have even penned them a song.

My point is, screw Africa. Until the African people can live in a civilized manner and stop oppressing each other, to hell with them. They always blame the old "Colonial Powers" but that act is getting a little old right now. Their problems are self inflicted. Mugabe says that maybe Tony Blair used chemical weapons to cause a drought in Africa. Total paranoid crap. Somebody take responsibility. A good place to start might be Zimbabwe. Or Darfur.

I was in Tanzania and Kenya in decent times in the late eighties and have now seen Kenya go to hell as well. Arap Moi's rule with his ethnic favoritism toward the Kikuyu tribe has now come home to roost. Along with Rwanda, Somalia, Chad, Sudan, etc., etc. Rampant tribalism and nepotism. Name me an African democracy that is functioning normally and responsibly (or an Arabian one for that matter.) They don't exist. And until they get their shit together all we will hear is a great big sucking sound with our foreign aid going into the vortex or some strongman's Swiss bank account.

Mbeki has been almost as disappointing in South Africa. His bury your head in the sand approach to fighting aids has caused the crisis to explode exponentially. He refuses to condemn Mugabe and now says that there is no political crisis in Zimbabwe. The only thing that the Africans can agree on are that white people are bad and the ultimate cause of their problems.


Nigeria is another country with huge petroleum dollars that is going to hell and has horrible internal ethnic division and poverty. Their election last year was universally condemned as fraudulent.

We cannot help these countries until they start to help themselves and not accept this continued pattern of deceit and corruption. Colonialism is long gone, time to look in the mirror. Yes it sounds awfully patronizing but tough shit, start acting like human beings or we cancel the aid. I feel the same way about Iraq. You want to kill each other, have at it. But lets not spill another drop of American Blood. I don't really see a lot of white hats in the area.

Do I turn a blind eye to Israel? Let's say that with the current players in the area, I see little hope that it doesn't turn into a nuclear bloodbath there eventually as well. The Israelis love to keep a hole card and to play the grand finesse. One day they might come up empty. Their neighbors are committed to their destruction and have superior numbers and financing. I see dark clouds on the horizon.

Now my take on Cuba is completely different: our approach is one of total hypocrisy. Why do we extend normal relations to tyrannical regimes like Beijing and Burma, that harvest organs of prisoners, occupy Tibet, employ slave labor and engage in a litany of repression against their own people and yet demonize a small country like Cuba where everyone is fed, educated and has access to free medical care?

And from what I have encountered, it seems that most Cubans take great pride in their country. Yes, the security apparatus is huge and yes, wages are minuscule, but look what they have been up against for the last 45 years? A U.S. embargo. And they have withstood it with flying colors. Freedom is severely lacking and you need a ration card to get milk after the age of seven. Granted. But lets not forget that pre Fidel Cuba was in some ways a cesspool under Batista, a mob playground infested with all of our famous western vices. But there are all these Cuban octogenarians in Florida that are just itching to get off their lawn chairs and reclaim the old title and I don't think it's never going to happen. Fidel, Raoul, whoever. The people who stuck it out there have acquired title. By sweat and blood. And I admire them. Lets partner with them and not dictate to them in the new millenium.

Hugo Chavez is an asshole and he is playing with fire in Venezuela. He will continue to squawk and he will get his eye poked in. But lets ease up on the Cubans. I would like to visit. I would like to hear their musicians. I would like to visit their museums legally. After all, I can go to China and Burma. What the hell is the difference?