Things Unsaid: Yes, Castro was a dictator, but…

…Who put him in power? It wasn’t the Soviet Union.

For most of the 20th century, the United States supported, backed and imposed fascist dictatorships across Latin America, the Carribean, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Overthrowing democratically elected and popular governments was standard practice, all on the name of “US interests”, which inevitably meant corporate business interests.  Most of those fascist dictators were trained at Fort Benning, Georgia.  The US taught them not just methods of torture and oppression, but how to quell and destroy those opposed to them – including, and especially, pro-democracy activists.

Fulgencio Batista of Cuba was one of those dictators.  For years he received support from the US government (financial, logistics, weapons, etc.) which helped him arrest, imprison, and kill tens of thousands of Cubans in order to retain power.  And while he did it, US corporations and 1%ers of the day were turning Cuba into what the US is becoming now, a country of financial extremes, the very rich (mostly foreigners) owning nearly everything, and the poor barely surviving.  Is it any wonder that the Cuban people turned to communism, turned to Castro to save them from fascism?  It was the only option they had when the US intentionally destroyed attempts at a peaceful change to democracy.

It is hypocritical to criticize Castro’s actions between the revolution and now without addressing how he came to power.  That’s akin to criticizing Saddam Hussein while washing away the US’s history of supporting, arming and training him.  Or the Shah of Iran.  Or Somoza in Nicaragua.  Or Pinochet in Chile.  Or Marcos in the Philippines.  Or Suharto in Indonesia.  Or the Duvaliers in Haiti.  Or Syngman Rhee in South Korea.  Or the military junta in Greece.  Or….  The spread of communism during the Cold War and islamic extremism since the 1960s have one commonality: they were both backlashes against dictatorships imposed by foreign colonialists. The US even backed communists, such as the Cambodian dictatorship responsible for the Killing Fields.

People always prefer to be free, but when forced to choose between two oppressors, they will always choose “the devil you know”.  Criticizing that decision is telling them to choose “the devil you don’t”.

Alternet: 35 Countries Where Us Has Supported Fascists, Druglords And Terrorists

And to anyone who says, “Castro destroyed the Cuban economy”, go blame US trade embargoes instead.  Nicaragua can tell you all about the effects of embargoes (read: anti-capitalist activities), and of giving in to the US (vis-a-vis the election of a right wing government so corrupt that right wing politicians supported the re-election of Daniel Ortega).

 

 

Justin Trudeau has been vilified for his words on Fidel Castro by those who support and are seeking a push to the far right (politicians and corporate media), in some cases pushing for fascism within their own borders.  Justin’s (*) comments were mealymouthed (no surprise there), but at least he acknowledged the fact that there were two sides to Castro’s story, unlike those who want to rewrite and ignore history.  Unfortunately, that’s the only positive I can say about Justin.

Fidel Castro attended the funeral of Pierre Trudeau in 2000, standing alongside Jimmy Carter and a wide variety of political figures from many countries, and of many ideological stripes.  Justin has shown again that he is not half the man his father was, announcing he will not attend Fidel Castro’s funeral.  His father would have not given a damn about popular or media opinion and gone anyway if the situations were reversed.

(* When I speak about people, I refuse to use titles but will use their surnames out of respect.  Referring to him only as Justin is a sign that I don’t due to his actions and failures to act.)

Whims Whimper: Left over ideas, episode 2

There’s something I forgot to say this when I did my “hello world” post, to identify myself.  I have been around FtB for several years as a commenter, using the handle left0ver1under.

I chose the name Intransitive for the blog for reasons I gave in my first post, being transgender (and using intransitive verbs in the post titles).  I didn’t know then I would only show up at Intransitive, not with the other name.  I know I can change it, I’m still learning the ins and outs.  If you’re curious as to where I got left0ver1under, think Super Mario Brothers.

I linked to my original blog in my first post, but for anyone who didn’t see that and didn’t dig back that far, here again is a link to the content.  I still need to get my rear in gear and move those posts over here.

Science is why dental problems don’t kill people anymore (unless you’re poor).  Anaesthetics prevent patients from feeling pain, antibiotics prevent and cure infections, and dental treatment (from filling cavities to straighenting to removing bad teeth) can save lives.

But that doesn’t make going to the dentist any less terrifying.  I’m a white-knuckle flyer, but I’m a big baby in the dentist’s chair, a constant cold sweat all over my body.  I sat through an hour of torture fourteen hours ago for one reason: the only thing worse than going to a dentist is not going to a dentist.

The dental medication and post-surgery discomfort are why I’m still awake and posting at 6:30AM on a Sunday, between bouts of fitful sleep.  At least I’m not feeling groggy anymore.

Don’t Steal: The Indian government hates competition

The Indian government of prime minister Narendra Modi is currently engaged in imposing a half-truth upon the country and betraying those who voted for him.  He is stealing and destroying the savings of the working people for the benefit of the banks and government, under the false claim of “clamping down on tax fraud”.

The government has claimed that people are “avoiding taxes”, so what is Modi’s solution?  To immediately declare all 1000 and 500 rupee notes as “invalid” and no longer currency.  The now defunct bills can no longer be used in stores nor to make payments, and can only be exchanged at banks for smaller denominations.  Panic has set in and massive lines have appeared at banks.  Most people do not have the time to stand in line for days and change their money, but risk losing all of their savings if they don’t.

This borders on a deliberate act of violence against the working class and the poor.  It will, of course, have absolutely no effect on the wealthiest tax dodgers whose money is already in the bank.  It will only affect those living day-to-day on cash.

This wouldn’t be a problem if this were a gradual currency change, such as in the Philippines which gave citizens more than two years’ notice.  But the Indian government gave the country’s citizens four hours’ notice, a move of such incompetence that one would expect it from the Zimbabwean government.

Why India wiped out 86% of its cash overnight

On 8 November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave only four hours’ notice that virtually all the cash in the world’s seventh-largest economy would be effectively worthless.

The Indian government likes to use the technical term “demonetisation” to describe the move, which makes it sound rather dull. It isn’t. This is the economic equivalent of “shock and awe”.

Mr Modi’s “shock and awe” declaration meant that 1,000 and 500 rupee notes would no longer be valid.

These may be the largest denomination Indian notes but they are not high value by international standards – 1,000 rupees is only £12. But together the two notes represent 86% of the currency in circulation.

In response, many Indian people have resorted to and started a barter economy.  Vendors (who do have time to go to banks and exchange larger bills) are accepting them and giving out cash, or even loaning money in some cases.  This sort of private economy (which the government is trying to stifle) is saving people’s life savings.

Cartoons of how ‘cashless’ Indians are coping

A tweet by a journalist that she had managed to buy vegetables after topping up her local vendor’s phone went viral over the weekend, with many extolling the virtues of good old-fashioned bartering.

India is a largely cash driven economy and many cities still rely on notes for essential transactions such as transport, buying fruit and vegetables from neighbourhood vendors and employing the services of plumbers, carpenters and electricians.

[…]

Many people are functioning on what some pundits are calling an “economy of trust” – that is they are providing goods and services and telling people to pay them later.

This is reminiscent of 1988 when the US tried to destroy Panama’s economy, an attempt to destablize Manuel Noriega’s hold on power.  People resorted to bartering and honouring cheques as a short term means of economic flow when there was little or no physical cash to be had.  (Panama has its own official currency, but the US dollar is the day-to-day cash used in the country.)

Cash Crisis Shuts Banks in Panama : Financial Dilemma Blamed on U.S Economic Pressure

PANAMA CITY, Panama — International banks fearing a run on deposits closed their doors Friday and anxious customers lined up outside, demanding their money. The National Bank accused the United States of crippling Panama’s banking.

“No one, not even in his blackest nightmare, could have imagined we’d be in such a state: The banks closed, no money. People are getting desperate,” said national assemblyman Mario de Obaldia. “We can’t go on like this.”

A general strike ended Friday, with opposition leaders saying the financial crisis would continue the pressure on the regime of Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega.

[…]

The National Bank of Panama issued a communique advising local banks that it could not meet their requests for money because U.S. authorities had prevented the shipment of $10 million from the Republic National Bank in New York.

Facts Abandoned: Corporate journalism fails again

Quickly and predictably, Justin Harris of Atlanta, Georgia, has been convicted of murdering his two year old in 2014.  Harris intentionally left his son Cooper inside a car for hours on a day where temperatures were 30-35°C.  He will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

Before and during the trial is came out that Harris was “sexting” during the hours he waited for his son to die, that he had been divorcing his wife and communicating with numerous teenagers and women from age 16-30.  He was found to be researching how to survive in prison and how long it would take to kill his son, among other topics.

One thing that has bothered me is the media’s obsession and repetition of “Harris’s interest in the child free lifestyle”. [Read more…]

Flounderers Field: Another year of poppy fascism

The US has flag fascists, and Canada (and other countries like England) has poppy fascists who say, “Participation is NOT optional.”  If you exercise your right not to wear a poppy, you’re “an enemy of freedom”…never mind the fact that the poppy is as much a symbol of colonialism, racism and christian ideology.

From blogger Yves Engler:

A day to remember

While there’s some criticism of the nationalism and militarism driving Remembrance Day, the organization sponsoring the red poppy campaign receives little critical attention. Incorporated by an act of Parliament, the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Services League was formed in 1926. Renamed the Royal Canadian Legion in 1960, from the get-go it was designed to counter more critical veteran organizations. In The Vimy Trap: or, How We Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Great War, Ian McKay and Jamie Swift write, “benefiting from government recognition, the Legion slowly supplanted its rivals. It was consciously designed as [a] body that would soothe the veterans temper and moderate their demands.”

[…]

The Legion has also espoused a racist, paranoid and pro-Empire worldview. In the years after World War II it called for the expulsion of Canadians of Japanese origin and ideological screening for German immigrants.

[Read more…]

Voting List: The US is now so tilted, reality is sideways

I am infuriated beyond words at the ignorance and incompetence of US voters more than I am towards the fact that Trump, like Shrub, got less than 50% of the vote.  This was preventable, and the DNC actively did things that caused it to happen.

What could have been, and now will never be.  Sorry, Bernie.

A few months ago, PZ Myers asked everyone to hold their nose and support Clinton because not doing so or criticizing her helped Trump.  While I agreed with that assessment, I chose silence.  (I’m Canadian, so I’m not a voter.)  But now that the election is over, it’s time and important to talk about how things came to be and what needs to be done.

The democratic party “leadership” needs to be held accountable, and probably removed.  Bernie Sanders’s candidacy was a protest against the establishment, against Clinton who was the choice of the 1%ers and Wall Street.  The DNC “leaders” actively acted against him in favour of Clinton, perhaps engaging in actual sabotage of his campaign (financing, publicity, support, etc.).

How many millions of protest votes went to Trump because Clinton was forced upon the populace?  How many might have voted for Clinton if she had won legitimately over Sanders and the DNC had not shown deliberate bias?  We will never know, but we do know that the DNC’s decision to foist Clinton on US voters and prevent any other candidates from winning is likely what killed any chance for her to win, not her scandals.  As some republicans openly stated early this year, the democrats had an open door to the White House and threw it away by choosing Clinton, the least viable candidate.

One of my biggest fears is that Trump will quickly realize how overwhelmed and incompetent he is for the job and quit, handing the presidency to Pence.  That would mean three or seven years of extremism that makes Shrub look like a moderate.  Or worse, if Trump quits after two years, Pence could be elected twice, meaning as much as ten years of his “leadership” if the US swings that far right.

In the 1990s, common rightwing rhetoric said, “Communism was the 20th century experiment that failed”.  One could now say that the US is the two century experiment that failed.  Like the Soviet Union, the US may soon be wiped from the page of time and have to start over again.

Music Rules: Because enlightenment no longer does

As a way to vent my frustration at the US debacle…I mean, election, here are five Canadian political songs from the past for your commiseration, since we can’t say enjoyment.  Lyrics (with selected highlights) and links to youtube videos can be found under the fold.

Rush, “Beneath, Between And Behind” (1975)

Rough Trade, “What’s the Furor About the Fuhrer?” (1981)

Bruce Cockburn, “The Trouble With Normal” (1983)

Bruce Cockburn, “Call It Democracy” (1983)

Red Rider, “Lunatic Fringe” (1981)

No, posting Cockburn’s lyrics doesn’t violate of my “no profanities” rule.  I’m quoting him, not saying it myself.

[Read more…]

Ballots Cast: Republican voting fraud (a redundancy)

A woman in New York has been receiving absentee ballots for five years.  For her dead father.  The story is only now making the news because she brought it to their attention.

Queens Woman Receives Deceased Father’s Absentee Ballot

This election cycle is dredging up the pain of the past for one Queens woman.

Michelle Dimino’s father, Anthony Baldomir, passed away in October 2012. Since then, she’s been receiving his absentee ballots for the primaries and general elections.

Dimino has made several calls to the board of elections, even sending her father’s death certificate on more than one occasion, but said he is still on the registration list.

[Read more…]

Blissfully Wed: Taiwan may soon have same sex marriage

Asia is home to four of the seven billion human beings in the world, and not one of the countries in the continent protects the right to same sex marriage.  (We should not say “give”, but protect.  It should have always been there.) In some less than enlightened countries, being LGBTQIA is still deemed a criminal act. Malaysia continues to enforce Victorian era British laws against “sodomy”.  Few Asian countries have pride parades like Taiwan did last weekend.

That may be about to change.  Taiwan’s ruling DPP government is proposing a bill to protect the right to same sex marriage.  This won’t affect me (I’m not the marrying kind) but for many others I know, it’s great news. [Read more…]

Music Rules: Suzi Quatro, still rocking after 40 years

In October 2016, Suzi Quatro was awarded an honourary doctoral degree from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England.  This goes along with her 2011 induction into Michigan’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

If you knew Suzi, like I know Suzi, you’d know how important she is to women in the music business. She was the first woman to front a hard rock band as the primary instrumentalist and songwriter.  She has sold over 50 million records worldwide, yet to most Americans, she is a one-hit wonder (“Stumblin’ In”) or a part time actress (Leather Tuscadero from “Happy Days”).  Her influence on other women to play is beyond measure – Chrissie Hynde, Joan Jett, Tina Weymouth to name but a few.

Lens Flashes: LGBT Taiwan Parade pics, part 1

As promised, here are the first batch of photos from Taiwan’s LGBT Pride Parade of October 29th.  It’s the second one I’ve been to, and much larger than the 2015 parade.

My apologies in advace for the lousy photo quality.  I’m a terrible photographer with a mediocre camera.  They are also reduced in size (1/4 or 1/8th of the originals, now 130kb to 180kb) to make it easier on the FtB servers.

parade1a

[Read more…]