The left, wing, the Hollywood idiots and Cuba's kastro - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

BENZ-LGB · #1 04-11-2003, 01:27 AM

Reprinted from the Wall Street Journal
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Mum's the Word
Hollywood celebs may not quite be pro-Saddam, but there's one tyrant they love.

BY ANDREW BREITBART
Friday, April 11, 2003 12:01 a.m.

Thousands of jubilant Iraqis, ready for a brand-new beat, dance in the street to celebrate the toppling of a brutal dictator whose tyranny has lasted 24 years but not 24 hours more. Preoccupied with the dramatic image of a noose around Saddam's neck as he is dragged to the ground in Baghdad's al-Fardous square (a 20-foot metal statue of Saddam, that is), the world largely overlooks the news of another dictator, Cuba's Fidel Castro, so far besting the Iraqi tyrant's run by 20 years and counting.
This week Castro continued his crackdown on dissidents with the speedy conviction of at least 74 nonviolent government opponents in nonpublic kangaroo-court proceedings. Rounded up last month, the jailed independent journalists and pro-democracy activists, including reporter-photographer Omar Rodriguez Saludes, writer Raul Rivero and magazine editor Ricardo Gonzalez, received sentences of up to 27 years each.

The U.S. State Department called the actions "the most egregious act of political repression in Cuba in the last decade." Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa said that Castro's draconian crackdown was the "natural progression of a dictatorship that has been oppressing human rights for years." The House passed a condemning resolution, 414-0, and Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders and International PEN, among others, joined the chorus of condemnation.

Not, though, the Castro Faithful--the media moguls, celebrity journalists, filmmakers and Hollywood glitterati who continue to break bread with the Cuban dictator and idolize him as "one hell of a guy," in Ted Turner's words. No, they were silent. And given protest-happy Hollywood's long love affair with the unelected "President" Fidel--"one of the most mysterious leaders in the world," cooed Barbara Walters on ABC's "20/20" in October, as she puffed up his "personal magnetism" and supposed social triumphs--it's unlikely that there will be any expression of disapproval from these quarters soon.

As Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen wrote this week, Castro can rely on "the unswerving naïveté and obtuseness of the American left, which consistently has managed to overlook what a goon he is." The list of those willing to keep Castro's good company, and remain silent when his actions revert to type, includes rich and famous celebrities who troop to Havana to pay their respects to the rich and famous dictator.

Perhaps they don't know any better, as they return with Cuban cigars and fawning praise: "It was an experience of a lifetime" (Kevin Costner); "he is a genius" (Jack Nicholson); a "source of inspiration to the world" (Naomi Campbell). But people who should know better make the pilgrimage too. Director Steven Spielberg, founder of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation and winner of an Academy Award for illuminating the horrors of the Holocaust, described his meeting with Castro in November as "the eight most important hours of my life." Never forget, indeed.
This week, as reported in Newsweek International's Global Buzz column, a pack of New York media VIPs, each willing to pony up $6,500 for travel costs, are set to jet to Cuba with Yoko Ono to meet with the Bearded One, just as his crackdown hits overdrive. Slate's blogger Mickey Kaus shrewdly comments: "It's especially ironic that press and publishing executives are paying an enormous premium to meet with a man who is busy jailing journalists and writers for being journalists and writers."

Yoko and Co.'s trek is not the first such jaunt to the land of the Buena Vista Social Club. Remember the February 2001 excursion of CBS President and CEO Les Moonves and his fellow travelers, MTV Networks Chairman Tom "Rock the Vote" Freston, Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter and other well-heeled media executives? Their four-day trip to Cuba, which naturally included a private dinner with Fidel, became the subject of a New York Post article and of quips from CBS employee David Letterman: "On the one hand, you have the ruthless dictator surrounded by sniveling 'yes' men, and then on the other hand, of course, you have Fidel Castro."

What were they thinking? And what are their thoughts now that the totalitarian communist dictator they so politely respected is acting so strikingly dictatorial? Requests to Ms. Walters, Mr. Carter and Mr. Turner for an explanation were left unresponded to, while Mr. Moonves's and Mr. Freston's offices went on record not to go on the record. Andy Spahn, a Spielberg rep at Dreamworks, said that the director was in pre-production and could not be reached for comment. Mr. Spahn went on to say, though, that the recent crackdown had been "provoked" by James Cason, a U.S. diplomat in Havana, who is reported to have met with Cuban dissidents in their homes in February.

Talk about "shock and awe"! It is indeed shocking to note the ease with which the Castro Faithful shy away from protesting his actions or correcting their sycophantic statements--or, in Mr. Spahn's case, put forward a blame-the-victim theory. Shocking too are the products of fawning tribute that continue to materialize, such as Estela Bravo's adoring documentary "Fidel" and the documentary "Comandante," directed by Oliver Stone and Fidel Castro himself, who was given the power to stop filming at will.

The Stone film, set to be broadcast on HBO in May, will supposedly show the human side of Castro, a man who is "one of the Earth's wisest people," as Mr. Stone said at a press conference in February. In "Comandante," we are told, Castro finally reveals his true views about shaving, his love of recent films such as "Titanic" and "Gladiator" (just don't ask how he got a hold of copies of the films under the U.S. economic embargo), and his great appreciation for Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren. Shocking indeed. Given the harshness of the recent dissident crackdown, the release date of the film seems awkward at best. If it wasn't so sad, it would be funny.

Why is this thug still the darling of the media elite? Why is it so unwilling to protest his dictatorial moves? As Marxist ideologue Groucho would say, a child of five would understand this; send someone to fetch a child of five.
Perhaps Castro represents a wish-fulfillment fantasy. A romantic, intellectual revolutionary achieves iconic status, absolute power, great wealth and a 40-year-plus reign--quite an appealing vision to ambitious people in industries with high career mortality rates. But who knows? The Faithful aren't talking.
Mr. Breitbart, with journalist Mark Ebner, is the author of the forthcoming "Hollywood, Interrupted" (Wiley).

Copyright © 2003 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Hollywood and other members of what is left of the bankrupt U.S. leftist movement have a long standing love affair with kastro. For the life of me, I cannot understand how these people can worship kastro. If they lived and worked in Cuba, they could not speak as freely as they do here.

If after reading the above article you agree with me that it is important to put pressure on kastro to make him stop oppressing the Cuban people, then please write to the President and to your Senator and Congressman and let him/her know that good, freedom-loving Americans will not tolerate kastro's oppression of innocent people.

Thank you.

Viva Cuba Libre!

DieselHead · #2 04-11-2003, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Hollywood

Yes, all of Hollywood. Even those who booed Michael Moore. That's a sweeping generalization. We shouldn't promote the idea that EVERYONE in Hollywood and entertainment is "lefty" (I'm not sure what the parameters of this movement are, "lefty" is very vague). Perhaps "lefty" is the wrong word to describe what you are getting at. There are lots of people who are democrats and who are left of center who would encourage strong arm action in N. Korea and Cuba.

BENZ-LGB · #3 04-11-2003, 02:06 PM

Hollywood and the movie industry happens to be a subject that I am quite familiar with. I won't disclose how I am familiar with the industry because it is not relevant at this point.

I can assure you, however, that there is a pervasive, and I may add pernicious, leftist-kommunist influence on the mid and upper echelons of Hollywood and the entertainment industry, including many of the news outlets. As the WSJ article accurately reports, the bigwigs of Hollywood, and their counterpart in the news media (Teddy Turner and Babby Walters, to name a few) have for years lavished obscene praise upon kastro and his regime. They have all, at one point or the other, tripped over their own tongues, rushing to lick kastro's boots.

During the klinton regime, these same hollywood types spent a considerable amount of time touring Cuba and paying homage to kastro. What these intellectually bankrupt and morally corrupt individuals never bothered to do, however, was to pay a visit to kastro's chambers of torture. They were too busy fishing for marlin, drinking mojitos or smoking cigars to notice, or even care, that under the happy kommunist horsehit facade projected by kastro, there exists a whole country that has been subjugated and enslaved by kastro and his goons. I guess that in Hollywood, they are so used to facades and to fakery, that they had no problem accepting kastro's as the real thing and never bothered to look beneath the surface. Spielberg, Stone, et al. all should be nominated for the Hans Blix Award for naivete and stupidity.

It is ironic, that the most free place in Cuba is Guantanamo Bay and that even the prisons where are held in Gitmo are far freer than any other place in the island.

Incidentally, has anyone read the piece from the CNN editor who, FOR YEARS, purposedly hid evidence of saddam's tyranny? Now he is trying hard to make it seem that he hid all of this evidence in order to "protect" his sources. In fact, however, the only thing he was he was protecting was his own ass and CNN's collective ass.

BTW, DH, I have it from a very good source that the booing that Michael-the-fat-kommy-pig-Moore received did not come from the so-called Hollywood elite. It came from the trades, from the musicians in the pits and from the "blue collar" side of Hollywood, not from its red-side. So your comment means nothing.

DH, you go and find me one, just one leftist "intellectual," or a leftist college professor, or a liberal Hollywood type, or any card carrying member of the I LOVE BARBRA STREISAND CLUB who is in favor of forcing kastro to open up Cuba's political jails for inspections by outside, neutral human rights groups. Not one, not a single one of the handwringers who kept asking the US to give more time to the UN inspectors is willing to call for UN inspections of kastro's jails. Not one, not a single one out of that bunch will ever do or say anything to help bring democracy to Cuba or to protect the civil rights of a people who for the last 40 years has lived under a regime as repressive and brutal as kastro's regime is. The left is madly in love with kastro, their infatuation knows no limits.

I guess it was ok, in the eyes of the leftist movement, for klinton to send troops to Haiti to "liberate" Haiti. But they would not approve of Bush sending troops there to help free the Cuban people.

What a despicable lot they are. May they all rot in hell!!!!

BENZ-LGB · #4 04-11-2003, 02:16 PM

DH writes:

There are lots of people who are democrats and who are left of center who would encourage strong arm action in N. Korea and Cuba.

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Name one.

DieselHead · #5 04-11-2003, 05:52 PM

John Edwards

DieselHead · #6 04-11-2003, 06:02 PM

Quote:

hollywood types

All the "Hollywood types?" First of all, you shouldn't really use the word "types." That leads to generalizations and groupings. I guess you don't take people one person at a time. I'm not defending Hollywood. There are loads of Susan Sarandons in Hollywood. I hate the entertainment industry. I they're all overpaid and many are undeserving. I'm not taking issue with your complaints with SOME in Hollywood, or the ultra liberal in Hollywood. It's your characterization of an entire group that's not very proper. I'm left of moderate and I endorse action in Cuba and North Korea. You're not really defining what "lefty" is. Economically? Socially? With regards to foreign affairs?

Quote:

The left is madly in love with kastro, their infatuation knows no limits

Ok, a very well defined group of liberals. You know, John McCain could be considered a liberal economically, but he's in favor of action in N. Korea and probably Cuba. You really need to define your parameters of being "lefty" before you label everyone a Communist.

Quote:

I have it from a very good source

Well then, if it really is a "very good source" then I guess my comment does mean nothing.

BENZ-LGB · #7 04-11-2003, 09:26 PM

DH writes:

You know, John McCain could be considered a liberal economically, but he's in favor of action in N. Korea and probably Cuba.

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I'll write John McCain's office and ask him whether he considers himself a liberal. We'll see what he has to say about that.

Also, what is John Edward's position on kastro and his regime. What is his position regarding the indiscriminate, illegal and vicious crackdown on dissenters? Get back to me on that.

You want to be a lawyer or teach law. What happened to due process in Cuba and why aren't the dems expressing their opposition to kastro's abuses of human rights? Get back to me on that too.

Do you think that maybe pelosi and/or daschle will have something to say about it? I won't hold my breath.

DieselHead · #8 04-11-2003, 09:57 PM

Quote:

I won't hold my breath

Will the Republicans commit forces to changing the regime in Cuba? I won't hold my breath either.

My point in bringing up McCain is that there are different subsets of liberalism. Some people are liberal in certain areas and not in others. McCain is someone who happens to be liberal in say, economics, but not on say, abortion. Liberalism and conservatism are complex terms and shouldn't be thrown around so lightly.

With regards to Cuba, I completely agree with you. While people (like those in Hollywood you refer to) will point to the fact that Cuba has one of the world's highest literacy rates, and also has one of the world's best health care infrastructures, leadership in Cuba is still authoritarian and dictatorial, and I agree that he needs to be removed. Education and Health care mean nothing without full civil liberties. I recognize that. Remember though, that while the "liberals" will oppose a military campaign to remove Castro, there are many conservatives who have advocated maintaining isolationism and embargos against Cuba. Effectively, we have failed policy-wise on two fronts. While we won't forcibly remove the leadership, we also are punishing the people of Cuba who would benefit from interaction with the outside world. Also, it is this interaction that would probably open up the country and reduce the stranglehold that Castro has. Anyway, this is all useless talk. We probably won't do anything about Cuba, republican or democrat in office, because polls wouldn't support it. Americans see no perceived security threat coming from Cuba, there are no accusations of Cuban "weapons of mass destruction." I highly doubt the American public would endorse action in Cuba for purely humanitarian reasons, especially not with the economy in its current state. Looks like we'll have to wait until Castro naturally relinquishes.

Alex