America's Most-Hated Minority

Agustin Blazquez sent me his latest essay on the plight of Cuban-Americans:

THE MOST OPENLY HATED MINORITY IN THE U.S. (c) 2005 ABIP
by Agustin Blazquez with the collaboration of Jaums Sutton

On March 26, 2005, on the Washington, DC local PBS station WETA Channel 26, while watching "Viewer Favorites," I was shocked to see singer Eric Burton - formerly of the group "The Animals" - wearing a Che Guevara shirt while performing on that show.

As a Cuban American, as a writer and a filmmaker, I am acquainted with the Che as a mass murderer who executed, without trial, many Cubans at La CabaÒa fortress in Havana as well as in the Sierra Maestra Mountains before 1959.

It is shocking that an educational public television station is not aware of Che's criminal record and let pass such an insensitive and offensive display of disrespect to Che's victims and the Cuban American community in the U.S. If Mr. Burton had worn a Hitler or a swastika printed shirt, he wouldn't have been presented - rightfully so - in order not to offend the Jewish victims and Holocaust survivors.

No PBS station would dare to show a performer wearing Ku-Klux-Klan apparel, a pro-David Duke or anti-Arab, anti-Islam, anti-Mexican, anti-Chinese or any other minority group in the U.S. It would have been simply edited out without any regard to what its creator intended.

Unfortunately, those considerations do not apply concerning the Cuban American community. Apparently everybody has carte blanche to offend and defame us without impunity in all print media, radio and TV as well as academia. Moreover, I believe there is even encouragement for bashing and scorning Cuban Americans.

But, stupid me, I decided to contact WETA. On March 29, I wrote an open letter complaining and requesting an apology from Sheryl Lahti, the Director of Audience Services at that PBS station with copies to Michael Pack and John Prizer of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. As of this writing I haven't received reply from Ms. Lahti or anyone else from WETA or PBS.

A Cuban American advocate for Democracy and Human Rights in Cuba from New York City who read my letter at LaurenceJarvikOnline http://laurencejarvikonline.blogspot.com, on April 4 wrote complaining about the Eric Burton blunder. The next day he got an email from Danielle Dunbar (ddunbar@weta.com), WETA's Audience Service Coordinator.

She wrote, "Thank you for watching WETA and for taking the time to write to us about one of the performers you saw in 'My Music: The 60s Generation.' While I am sorry to hear that you object to a portion of the program, I appreciate the opportunity to respond.

"While WETA airs the fundraising special, we did not produce the program. The show was produced by TJL Productions and distributed by PBS. TJL Productions is solely responsible for its content. Nonetheless, as a public broadcaster that produces, broadcasts and values a wide range of programs that cover a divergent range of topics, it would be inappropriate for WETA to engage in such censorship. While you may dislike images of a particular subject, others may respond favorably to the same image. It is not our intent or role to suppress or promote either view, but to present the program as the show's creator intended. How you feel about that is a matter of personal choice. Further, there are no elements to the program that violate any FCC rules or guidelines. 'My Music' has been a very popular program with WETA's members and viewers, and I expect that we will air it again in the future."

I think her arguments are not valid. Of course PBS is responsible for what they decide show, especially if it is offensive to a minority and PBS/WETA does exercise censorship in what they present about Castro's Cuba. Even Oscar winning Nestor Almendros' "Nobody Listened" had to be edited and shortened against what its "creator intended" in order to be aired by PBS/WETA in tandem with a Saul Landau's pro-Castro documentary. So PBS practices selective censorship in order not to offend Castro while doesn't care about his victims.

However, the pro-Castro documentaries of Estela Bravo (a native New Yorker who has lived in Cuba since 1963 as a member of the pro-Castro foreign elite) are shown on PBS/WETA without the benefit of showing an opposite point of view. Yes, PBS/WETA offers opportunities to one side, but not the other.

In spite of our complaints, Danielle Dunbar is defiant at the end when she arrogantly states, "'My Music' has been a very popular program with WETA's members and viewers, and I expect that we will air it again in the future." Their attitude is of insensitivity and utter disdain for Cuban Americans feelings.

Famous guitarist Carlos Santana proudly wearing a Che t-shirt while performing at the 2005 Oscars Award ceremony recently offended uncountable Cuban Americans. Famous Cuban American saxophonist, Paquito D'Rivera, was offended and wrote a public letter to his colleague.

In his letter, Paquito D'Rivera says to Carlos Santana, "not too long ago you committed the faux-pas of appearing at the Oscar Awards ceremony, brandishing, with pride, an enormous crucifix over a t-shirt with that archaic and stereotyped image of 'The Butcher of the Cabana,' the moniker given to the lamentable character known as Che Guevara by those Cubans who had to suffer his tortures and humiliations in that nefarious prison.

"One of these Cubans was my cousin Bebo, imprisoned there just for being a Christian. He recounts to me on occasion, always with infinite bitterness, how he could hear, from his cell, in the early hours of dawn, the executions without prior trials or process of law, of the many who died shouting, 'Long Live Christ The King!'

"The guerrilla guy with the beret with the star is something more than that ridiculous film about a motorcycle, my illustrious colleague, and to juxtapose Christ with ChÈ Guevara is like entering a synagogue with a swastika hanging from your neck; it's also a harsh blow in the face of that Cuban youth from the 60's, who had to go into hiding to listen to your albums which the Revolution, and the troglodyte Argentinean and his cohorts, dubbed as 'imperialist music' (i.e. Rock & Roll).

"I can't find all the words to express my indignation over your irresponsible attitude, but believe me that in spite of all, as an artist I always wish you luck."

Santana later apologized on the Spanish TV show "Primer Impacto" on the UNIVISION network. But the U.S. media said nothing.

On June 1, 2005, Santana had a concert at the American Airline Arena (AAA) in Miami. Cuban Americans organized a silent vigil carrying candles and crosses for each one of Che's victims in front of AAA. As usual the U.S. media didn't report the vigil. But according to sources inside AAA, Santana lost more than 40% in ticket sales.

Humberto Fontova, the author of the newly released book "Fidel: Hollywood's Favorite Tyrant" http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/4/7/180418.shtml in a recent article titled "Che at the Oscars" http://newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/3/31/162005.shtml writes about the testimony of a Cuban American, Pierre San Martin, that was one of the people jailed by Che. Fontova refers to an article in El Nuevo Herald a few years ago.

In it, San Martin says, "32 of us were crammed into a cell, 16 of us would stand while the other sixteen tried to sleep on the cold filthy floor. We took shifts that way. Actually, we considered ourselves lucky. After all, we were alive. Dozens were led from the cells to the firing squad daily. The volleys kept us awake. We felt that any one of those minutes would be our last.

"One morning the horrible sound of that rusty steel door swinging open startled us awake and Che's guards shoved a new prisoner into our cell. His face was bruised and smeared with blood. We could only gape. He was a boy, couldn't have been much older than 12, maybe 14.

"'What did you do?' We asked horrified. 'I tried to defend my papa,' gasped the bloodied boy. 'I tried to keep these Communist sons of b**tches form murdering him! But they sent him to the firing squad.

"Soon Che's goons came back, the rusty steel door opened and they yanked the valiant boy out of the cell. 'We all rushed to the cell's window that faced the execution pit,' recalls Mr. San Martin. 'We simply couldn't believe they'd murder him!'

"'Then we spotted him, strutting around the blood-drenched execution yard with his hands on his waist and barking orders--the gallant Che Guevara.' Here Che was finally in his element. In battle he was a sad joke, a bumbler of epic proportions (For details see Fidel; Hollywood's Favorite Tyrant). But up against disarmed and bloodied boys he was a snarling tiger. 'Kneel Down! Che barked at the boy.

"'ASSASSINS!' We screamed for our window. 'MURDERERS!! HOW CAN YOU MURDER A LITTLE BOY!' I said: KNEEL DOWN!' Che barked again.

"The boy stared Che resolutely in the face. 'If you're going to kill me,' he yelled, 'you'll have to do it while I'm standing! MEN die standing!'

"COWARDS!--MURDERERS!..Sons of B**TCHES!' The men yelled desperately from their cells. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!' HOW CAN...?!

"And then we saw Che upholstering his pistol. It didn't seem possible. But Che raised his pistol, put the barrel to the back of the boy neck and blasted. The shot almost decapitated the young boy.

"We erupted. We were enraged, hysterical, banging on the bars.'MURDERERS!--ASSASSINS!' His murder finished, Che finally looked up at us, pointed his pistol, and BLAM!-BLAM-BLAM! emptied his clip in our direction. Several of us were wounded by his shots."

"To a man (and boy) Che's murder victims went down in a blaze of defiance and glory. So let's recall Che's own plea when the wheels of justice finally turned and he was cornered in Bolivia, 'Don't Shoot!' he whimpered. 'I'm Che ! I'm worth more to you alive than dead!'

"This swinish and murdering coward, this child-killer, was the toast of the Oscars." Fontova concludes.

And now WETA will defiantly is hoping to show Eric Burton again proudly wearing a criminal Che t-shirt without apologizing to his victims, one of them is a young boy 12 or 14 years old.

Cuban Americans sadly watch with concern and horror such open displays of hatred toward us as a minority in the U.S.

(c) 2005 ABIP
Agustin Blazquez, Producer/director of the documentaries
COVERING CUBA, CUBA: The Pearl of the Antilles, COVERING CUBA 2: The Next Generation & COVERING CUBA 3: Elian presented at the 2003 Miami Latin Film Festival and the 2004 American Film Renaissance Film Festival in Dallas, Texas and the upcoming COVERING CUBA 4: The Rats Below and Dan Rather "60 Minutes" an inside view (ALL AVAILABLE AT: http://www.cubacollectibles.com/) Author with Carlos Wotzkow of the book COVERING AND DISCOVERING and translator with Jaums Sutton of the book by Luis Grave de Peralta Morell THE MAFIA OF HAVANA: The Cuban Cosa Nostra.

Why Bush is Losing . . .

Victor Davis Hanson declares that he's winning, but actually explains why Bush is losing the Global War on Terror:

If President Bush were a liberal Democrat; if he were bombing a white Christian, politically clumsy fascist in the heart of Europe; if al Qaeda and its Islamist adherents were properly seen as eighth-century tormenters of humanists, women, homosexuals, non-Arabs, and non-Wahhabi believers; and if Iraq had become completely somnolent with the toppling of Saddam's statue, then the American people would have remained behind the effort to dismantle Islamic fundamentalism and create the foundations to ensure its permanent demise.

IMHO Bush bears the responsibility for his failures (Reagan did OK, and he certainly wasn't a liberal Democrat in office), but Hanson is right about some other things, and the article is worth reading. (link from Little Green Footballs)

Israelis Charge USAID Funds Terrorists

The New York Sun reports that an Israeli groups has charged the US Agency for International Development with funding terrorists. I believe these allegations are true, despite USAID's denials.

"Governmental and non-governmental organizations in the Palestinian Authority continue to receive hundreds of millions of dollars from the U.S. Agency for International Development, some of which is going directly to frameworks that sponsor branches of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations," the report's executive summary says.

When I was living in Uzbekistan, USAID was funding some questionable people there, too . . . (link via Little Green Footballs)

An Afghanistan Blog

I found Miserable Donuts through a link on a comment on a posting I made at Registan.net. It's pretty interesting . . .

Why Do They Hate US? (cont'd.)

Pew Global Attitudes Project: Introduction: 16-Nation Pew Global Attitudes Survey: U.S. Image Up Slightly, But Still Negative:

Anti-Americanism in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, which surged as a result of the U.S. war in Iraq, shows modest signs of abating. But the United States remains broadly disliked in most countries surveyed, and the opinion of the American people is not as positive as it once was. The magnitude of America's image problem is such that even popular U.S. policies have done little to repair it. President George W. Bush's calls for greater democracy in the Middle East and U.S. aid for tsunami victims in Asia have been well-received in many countries, but only in Indonesia, India and Russia has there been significant improvement in overall opinions of the U.S.

AEI Scholar Wrong to Champion Islamism

Daniel Pipes takes on the increasingly fashionable policy recommendations of former CIA agent Reuel Gerecht, now at the American Enterprise Institute, who calls for the election of Islamist fundamentalist leaders as part of President Bush's "democracy" strategy :

Reuel Gerecht is someone whose work I admire - he is an insightful and prolific writer on matters Middle Eastern, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and a frequent contributor to the Weekly Standard. In 1997, I called his book, Know Thine Enemy (written under the pseudonym, Edward Shirley) a 'quite brilliant spy's report.'

But Gerecht has lately become the most prominent voice of the responsible right to advocate welcoming radical Islam's coming to power. Toward this end, he offers aphorisms such as 'Bin Laden-ism can only be gutted by fundamentalists' and 'Moderate Muslims are not the answer. Shiite clerics and Sunni fundamentalists are our salvation from future 9/11s.'

In a short book, The Islamic Paradox: Shiite Clerics, Sunni Fundamentalists and the Coming of Arab Democracy, Mr. Gerecht lays out his views. Unlike the appeasers and the woolly-minded, he neither pre-empts nor deludes himself. His analysis is hardheaded, even clever. But his conclusion is fundamentally flawed.

Contra Gerecht, Pipes argues Islamist nations are a direct threat to the United States, citing the example of Iran's export of terrorism and nuclear blackmail. Pipes concludes:

In accepting the horrors of Islamist rule, Gerecht is unnecessarily defeatist. Rather than passively reconcile itself to decades of totalitarian rule, Washington should actively help Muslim countries navigate from autocracy to democracy without passing through an Islamist phase.

This is indeed achievable. As I wrote a decade ago in response to the Algerian crisis, instead of focusing on quick elections, which almost always benefit the Islamists, the American government should shift its efforts to slower and deeper goals: "political participation, the rule of law (including an independent judiciary), freedom of speech and religion, property rights, minority rights, and the right to form voluntary organizations (especially political parties)." Elections should only follow on the achievement of these steps. Realistically, they could well take decades to achieve.

Elections should culminate the democratic process, not start it. They ought to celebrate civil society successfully achieved. Once such a civil society exists (as it does in Iran but not in Algeria), voters are unlikely to vote Islamists into power.

Unfortunately, Reuel Gerecht seems to have more followers than Daniel Pipes in Washington policy-making circles these days, IMHO.

Latest News from Holland

Can be found on the interesting blog called Dutch Report.

Tampa Terrorism Trial

You won't read about it in the New York Times--which is censoring the story for political reasons, according to Roger L. Simon--but Tampa Bay Online has full coverage of Florida's terrorism trial at: Al-Arian Special Report.

All Hat and No Cattle . . .

That's what the Republicans showed themselves as, when the House restored $100 million to public broadcasting:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Big Bird and National Public Radio won a reprieve Thursday as the House restored $100 million that had been proposed as a budget cut for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Of course, this money may be used against Republicans in the 2006 election cycle. And another legislative defeat adds to Bush's "lame duck" status. Ken Tomlinson might as well make out the check directly to the Democratic National Committee.

Cato Institute: Defund PBS

David Boaz writes:: "It's simply wrong for tax-funded broadcasters to use our tax dollars to lobby on behalf of getting more tax dollars. When government money is used to influence the government, it's like putting a thumb on the scales of public debate. Government itself is tipping the scales in one direction."

Who are Russia's enemies?

RIA Novosti's poll results are intersting: "The results of the poll of 1,600 Russian adults were given wide coverage in Russian media, but it will take some time to analyze them because the new list of enemies is a bombshell. Respondents named Latvia (49%), Lithuania (42%), Georgia (38%) and Estonia (32%) as Russia's greatest enemies, while the list of friends includes Belarus (46%), Germany (23%), Kazakhstan (20%), India (16%), and France (13%). The first striking thing is the absence of the United States, the archenemy of yesteryear. Compared to the recent past, public hostility to the U.S. has plummeted. Most Russian analysts of the poll's results have not even noticed this: America does not interest them either, although just a few years ago most Russian and American political scientists predicted a rapid growth of anti-American sentiments in Russia "

Cuban-Americans Infiltrate Castro's Washington, DC Party

Agustin Blazquez sent us the following news:

In fulfillment with one of the primary objectives of The Domino Network, education, Maria Teresa Arguelles joined a group of Cuban Americans and Americans who infiltrated a gala hosted by the organization Pros in the City and the Cuban Interest Section at the former Embassy of Cuba in Washington DC this past Saturday evening. The infiltration was the brainchild of Maria Werlau, a prominent activist from the New York/ New Jersey area and a fellow activist from the same area.  Younger generation Cuban Americans comprised the group of infiltrators along with liberty loving Americans. The diverse group lives in various cities, including Chicago and the New York, New Hampshire, South Florida, and Metropolitan Washington areas, and belongs to various generations. 

The group that penetrated the Cuban Mission was able to bypass the security apparatus of the Cuban regime even though all guests had to be cleared by a Cuban security team before entering the party. Among the group were key individuals who recently had spoken publicly in the Washington area about the violations of human, civic, political and labor rights inside Cuba.  During the gala, the group distributed cards with photos of the Cuba enjoyed by tourists, contrasted with photos of the terrible conditions in Cuba and the sad reality of oppression and injustice. Surrounded by the vigilant eye of the Cuban security group, the group bypassed the vigilance and was able to interact with the guests, even able to converse with them. 

[NetforCuba.org authorize the reproduction and distribution of this E-Mail as long as the source is credited: http://www.netforcuba.org]

A Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy?

That's the phrase that comes to mind after reading Paul Farhi's article about the politics of public broadcasting in today's Washington Post.

Yet as the House of Representatives prepares to vote on the biggest federal cutback ever for public broadcasting, there isn't much diversity to be found among the people on either side. The battle lines over public broadcasting have been drawn in sharply partisan fashion: Democrats in Congress and liberal organizations have emerged as public broadcasting's most visible and vocal supporters, while Republicans and conservatives have stayed mostly silent.

Among the groups that have been petitioning Congress on behalf of public broadcasting are a number with a history of liberal advocacy. These include People for the American Way, FreePress, Media Matters and MoveOn.org, which last year raised millions of dollars for ads critical of President Bush's reelection.

We report, you decide . . .

The Case for De-Funding Public Broadcasting

For more on this kerfuffle, see Cliff Kincaid's report for Accuracy in Media . . .

Big Red Dog Wants Ken Tomlinson's Head!

This photo
from the NY Times shows the Public Broadcasting Lynch Mob on the march:

Jamie Rose for The New York Times

Clifford the Big Red Dog, with Representative Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and others, headed to a Capitol Hill news conference to protest proposed financing cuts for public broadcasting.

Here's the NY Times article that says 16 Democrats want Tomlinson out for giving a grant to a conservative.

Are the Democrats any more serious about this than the Republicans? The best way to get rid of Ken Tomlinson is to ZERO OUT THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING. Then, he won't have a job! So, the Democrats can solve their problem by joining with the Republicans on this one--if they mean what they say . . .

Mississippi Klansman Convicted

Newsday.com: Guilty in Miss. - 41 years later:

PHILADELPHIA, Miss. -- On the 41st anniversary of the murders that came to define their state as an outpost of racial hate, Mississippi jurors yesterday convicted former Ku Klux Klan leader Edgar Ray Killen of manslaughter in the 1964 deaths of three civil rights workers.

At least Killen didn't get away with his crime forever. Better late than never...

And some lessons for President Bush's "Global War on Terror." Namely, the KKK and the Islamist terrorist groups share similar community ties, social patterns of connection, and even the belief that their organizations were doing good. Most interesting in this regard was the testimony on Killen's behalf that the KKK was a charitable group that did many good works. We've heard the same sorts of things about Hamas, Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood and other racist, supremacist, and violent terrorist outfits. Fear of the Klan protected Killen for two generations. Only when the Klan had been sufficiently weakened could he be convicted. This was not accomplished by working to bring the Klan within the system--it was achieved by crushing the Klan and making membership a shameful secret rather than a badge of pride.

In this regard, pictures of President Bush holding hands with the Islamist Saudi monarch a few months ago were the equivalent of Lyndon Johnson hugging a grand Kleagle in 1964. It's not the way to go.

The war on terror will be won the same way the war against the Klan was, through zero tolerance for terrorists and their apologists. There is no other way.

Mazo de la Roche

Our family affair was held at a Canadian inn frequented by the authorMazo de la Roche, who wrote about the Whiteoaks of Jalna, in a Galsworthy way. Our cousins had heard of her, and read her books, but we hadn't.

Off we went to visit her grave at St. George's Church in Jackson's Point, Ontario. Now, we're just a little bit interested in yesterday's best-selling author, known to us only as a throwaway line in Simon Gray's play, "Butley."

Bolton Will Go to the UN

Although he is having a hard time getting through the Senate, Bolton will go to the UN, possibly as a recess appointment this July. That gives him a year to build a record. My guess is that John Bolton will do a good job, and be confirmed after a year--if he's not confirmed before July.

POLITICAL FALLOUT: If the Senate doesn't confirm Bolton soon, Republicans can make the cloture vote an equivalent of Bolton's Up or Down confirmation -- and use it in 2006 Senate campaigns against vulnerable Democrats...

When is an Ad not an Ad?

When it airs on PBS, according to Paul Farhi's Washington Post article Public Broadcasters Air Ads Against Federal Cutback.

What's wrong with this picture?

1. Public broadcasting isn't supposed to air ads;

2. Public broadcasting stations are prohibited by law from airing "calls to action" -- yet reportedly that is exactly what these ads do;

3. Public broadcasting must by law treat all matters of public controversy with "balance and objectivity"--yet these call to action ads are only giving one side of the issue.

Let alone the legal constraints on lobbying Congress resulting from campaign finance reform laws. So, if anyone had an interest in investigating public broadcasting in this regard, it probably would reveal a number of legal and financial scandals (ads cost money), some of which might result in Elliot Spitzer-like prosecutions, even some RICO provisions might apply.

Put Big Bird behind bars! (But I fear he might have more "protection" than Martha Stewart...)

NY Times Exposes -- a Conservative Grant Recipient at CPB . . .

The headline says it all: Public Broadcasting Monitor Had Worked at Center Founded by Conservatives.

IMHO the fact that it seems to be headline news when a conservative gets a CPB grant is evidence that something is rotten in public broadcasting.

A Shameless Plug for a Relative's Paintings . . .

At a family affair this weekend, I learned that my cousin Louise has a website for her paintings at louiselinkrath.net. She did the cover art for Ann Robinson's collection of stories, Ordinary Perils.
.

Public Broadcasting's Never-Ending Hoax

Even Amy Harmon of The New York Timesrecognizes that MoveOn.org is passing on an old "Save NPR and PBS" web hoax, even though there is no way the networks could possibly go off the air (NPR alone recently received a 200 million dollar bequest from McDonald's heiress Joan Kroc).

If the regulators at the FTC had any principles, they'd go after public broadcasters and their flacks at places like MoveOn.org for false, misleading, and deceptive marketing practices.

Of course, I'm not holding my breath...

Maybe Peggy Noonan Wants Another PBS Show...

Last time PBS faced a big funding cut, the network gave her a television show. Now, unsurprisingly, Peggy Noonan says she wants Republicans to save PBS.

I'm not saying that the Wall Street Journal has gone soft on this issue since they got their own PBS series, but once upon a time the editors used to ask me to write op-eds on the topic. Now, they don't.

PBS Back in the News

Phones started ringing again, after some 9 years, from people who want to know what I think about Republican threats to cut PBS funding. PBS, meanwhile, is engaged in a PR campaign that has led to stories like this on: PBS Updates Editorial Standards, Adds Ombudsman in the Washington Post today:

Amid conflict over the political content of its programming, the Public Broadcasting Service yesterday unveiled editorial standards intended to ensure balance and fairness in its news, science and documentary shows.

Separately, Alexandria-based PBS also said it would hire an ombudsman for the first time to review controversial programs after they air.

Actually, Jim Lehrer began his national PBS career as an ombudsman almost 30 years ago. He was hired to oversee balance and fairness when the network was under attack from Richard Nixon. It worked out OK for him--but not so well for President Nixon, when Lehrer hosted PBS's coverage of Congressional impeachment hearings.

IMHO the Republicans have been "all hat and no cattle" (Texas talk that Jim Lehrer and George Bush might understand) when it comes to zeroing out PBS and NPR. Useful for scare stories in the mainstream media to motivate the liberal donor base of the Democratic Party, but not much else. I'll believe they are serious the day I'm offered Jim Lerher's old job as PBS Vice-President for Balance and Objectivity.

Congress to Cut PBS?

The New York Times says Congress is cutting funding for PBS. Frankly, I don't believe it, since so far President Bush has been giving PBS and NPR more money than they got under President Clinton--his thanks has been a barrage of anti-American propaganda designed to defeat the United States in the Global War on Terror, as well as promote additional anti-Republican agenda items. But I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

As I've said before, PBS and NPR money might better be used to pay for armor to protect American troops in Iraq.

"Mikhail Khodorkovsky is not the only political prisoner in Russia"

So says The Russian Dilettante's Weblog:

It is clear now, even to me, that Khodorkovsky is a political prisoner. But quite a few other people have been arrested in the course of the YUKOS investigation. All of them, I believe, should be considered political prisoners.
Most of these people are former employees of YUKOS and its affiliated companies. Unlike Khodorkovsky, who knew what risks he was taking, whose supporters are plenty and whose wealth is still considerable, most of these people were simply employees, neither rich nor powerful. They are not persecuted for their political convictions or actions, yet their persecution is politically motivated; hence, they, too, are political prisoners.
The most outrageous case, I think, is that of Svetlana Bakhmina, a mother of two and a former deputy head of YUKOS' legal department. Svetlana was arrested on Dec. 7, 2004, on a YUKOS-related charge, and has been imprisoned since. Kept in a cell with nine other women, she was denied phone calls to her children (seven and three years old) and went on a hunger strike to protest the ban. Investigators interrogated her for hours on end; after an eight-hour interrogation session Svetlana, who suffers from a chronic heart disease, collapse and was taken to -- alas -- a prison hospital.

What is to be done in Uzbekistan?

Nathan Hamm answers Michael J. Totten's call to dump Uzbek president Islam Karimov, in a thoughtful discussion of the difficulties facing American policy towards this Central Asian nation in the aftermath of the Andijan massacre. Nathan's bottom line is handle with care:

Uzbekistan's success is as important if not more important to Central Asia's future as Afghanistan. It's worth taking plenty of time to figure out the best way to proceed.

German TV: Bush Planned 9/11

I found Tom Goeller's Washington Times story through a link on the Drudge Report.:

A fictional crime drama based on the premise that the Bush administration ordered the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Washington aired this week on German state television, prompting the Green Party chairman to call for an investigation.

'I think absolutely nothing of the conspiracy theory that has been hawked in this series. I hope this particular TV movie will be discussed very critically at the next supervisory board meeting of ARD [state television],' said Green Party Chairman Reinhard Buetikofer, who acknowledged that he had not seen the show.

Sunday night's episode of 'Tatort,' a popular murder mystery that has been running on state-run ARD-German television for 35 years, revolved around a German woman and a man who was killed in her apartment.

According to the plot, which was seen by approximately 7 million Germans, the dead man had been trained to be one of the September 11 pilots but was left behind, only to be tracked down and killed by CIA or FBI assassins.

The woman, who says in the program that the September 11 attacks were instigated by the Bush family for oil and power, then is targeted, presumably to silence her. The drama concludes with the German detectives accepting the truth of her story as she eludes the U.S. government hit men and escapes to safety in an unnamed Arab country.


As ludicrous as it may sound to most Americans, the tale has resonance in Germany, where fantastic conspiracy theories often are taken as fact.

Of course, this is so-called "black" propaganda, part of a "big lie" campaign against America.

My students in Uzbekistan believed this sort of nonsense, my students in Russia believed it, and I'm sure the Germans believe it also. That this sort of thing is being broadcast on German TV, in this day and age, is a troubling sign for the US, indeed...

Anne Bancroft, Bronxite

The New York Times has a nice obituary of Anne Bancroft today. What I really liked is that Bancroft was an Italian girl from The Bronx, born Anna Louisa Maria Italiano. She was a versatile and talented actress, and always projected a certain cool elegance. Underneath, she must have been a volcano... Bancroft was great as the Miracle Worker as well as Mrs. Robinson. Mel Brooks was lucky to have been married to her.

Vladimir Putin's Russia

Peter Baker and Susan B. Glasser have an interesting article in today's in today's Washington Post about Putin's path to power, taken from their new book, Kremlin Rising. It seems pretty accurate.

This quote, for example, rings true: "'The Russian people,' Putin's chief of staff, Alexander Voloshin, regularly told colleagues behind closed doors, 'are not ready for democracy.'"

Kerry Dumber Than Bush

At least according to a Boston Globe report of his 71 average at Yale. Bush had a 76 average.

Fantastic!

Laurence Leamer has a new book out, a biography of Arnold Schwarznegger. I met him a million years ago, and based on what I know about him--and the fact that he's apparently been banned by the Today Show on NBC--think this new book may have some juicy tidbits of the Kitty Kelley sort...

Roger L. Simon v. Amnesty International

After its latest report on the American "gulag," Roger L. Simon says the international human rights NGO is, "in Orwell's evocative phrase,'objectively pro-fascist.'"

Aero Memories

OpinionJournal has a nice article today about Santa Monica's Aero Theatre, where I used to watch movies when I lived on the West Coast. It's nice to read that the movie house is still in operation. We had a similar situation here in DC with the Avalon movie theatre, I signed a petition to save it. A big real-estate developer, Douglas Jemal, did exactly that--and it is back in operation as an art house run by a foundation. They did a beautiful job with the restoration of the building, too. If it can happen here in DC, without a movie industry, it can happen in Santa Monica. So, I'll repeat a slogan of the day: "Save the Aero!"

Natan Sharansky on Uzbekistan

From the May 25, 2005 issue of The Forward:

In an interview with the Israeli daily Novosti Nedeli last August, Sharansky said that terrorism threats were a reminder that Karimov's uncompromising stance against extremists was justified, according to the BBC monitoring service.

"The Uzbek government adopted such an uncompromising position because it is understood in Tashkent, in the same way as Jerusalem, that the battle against terrorism is not some sort of tribal conflict; it is a world war of the forces of democracy against international terrorism," Sharansky was quoted as saying. He added, "It goes without saying that the strengthening, development and defense of democracy in Uzbekistan are an important part of the struggle for human rights all over the world. However, it would be a mistake to believe that the democratization process could be speeded up by way of slander and defaming the courageous struggle that Uzbekistan is waging against terrorism."

Mark Steyn on President Hillary Clinton (2008)

Read the whole thing:

A Rodham Administration would lend an obvious symmetry to the last two decades of Presidential history: Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton. But just as it rapidly became clear that Bush Jr was a far more consequential figure than Bush Sr, so the pants-suited Clinton would set out to be a more consequential figure than the pantsless Clinton.

Gag me with a spoon!

That's my response to the Investigative Reporters and Editors conference tribute to Dan Rather, which Little Green Footballs found described onVariety.com.

Rather than just quietly going away, Rather is staying "in your face" after the 60 Minutes II document fraud. Anyone paying tribute to this, to say the least, isn't an honest reporter or editor -- much less an investigative one, since Rather and company for some reason didn't bother to investigate the documents to determine their authenticity before broadcasting them to the nation.

Memo to President Bush: Stop Embracing Islamists...

Says Michael Rubin, in Middle East Forum:

By embracing Islamists in Iran, President Jimmy Carter replaced one dictatorship with another. [Editor's note: Far worse than the Shah] The Bush administration's flirtation with Arab Islamists risks doing the same. Washington should push for democracy, but only work with groups willing to abide by democratic precepts.

Will Bushies heed this advice, before it is too late?

Why is Left-Wing Theatre so Lousy?

That's Terry Teachout's question in today's column on OpinionJournal - Extra. He's been to a lot of bad plays lately, by people such as Sam Shepard . . .

Marjorie Phillips' Masterwork

Today several Washington, DC museums were open for free. After seeing chef Deborah Madison cook some vegetarian croquettes at the DC Farmer's Market, I went with some friends to the Phillips Collection, where they've taken Marjorie Phillips' painting of the old Washington Senators out of storage in celebration of the return of America's favorite pastime to the Nation's Capital. The resurrection of this painting, and my personal discovery of Marjorie Phillips as an artist, is another benefit of having baseball back in town.

Now, if I could only get some tickets to a game...

"Michael Isikoff, Meet Salman Rushdie," says Daniel Pipes

Daniel Pipes makes a good case that Rumsfeld and company were wrong to blame Newsweek for the riots and killings that followed publication of Michael Isikoff's charges of Koran abuse. The villians of this story are radical Islamists who would kill over a kicked Koran--not the media, not Newsweek, and not Isikoff or his collaborator, John Barry.

The Myth of the "Lone Terrorist"

Former FBI agent Mike German writes about the swamps which breed terrorism in today's Washington Post opinion column:Behind the Lone Terrorist, a Pack Mentality:

Bringing to justice everyone directly responsible for acts of violence is important, but unmasking the full conspiracy is even more important from the standpoint of preventing terrorism. Lone extremists pose a challenge for law enforcement because they are difficult to predict. It's like searching every haystack for a needle. Perhaps we'd have better luck if we paid more attention to the needle factories. This is especially true now that militant Islamic terrorist groups like al Qaeda are adopting the model of leaderless resistance that our homegrown terrorists mastered so well.

Kanan Makiya: Iraq Troubles Stem From De-Baathification Failure

Middle East Quarterly has an interesting interview with Kanan Makiya, author of "Republic of Fear." He blames America's problems in Iraq on a policy of post-war appeasement:

Makiya: The formation of the Fallujah Brigade [in April 2004] was an essential moment in the reversal of de-Baathification. It was by common agreement today a terrible idea and a failure. Its point was to recruit and co-opt former Iraqi officers, who were even allowed to dress up in Baathist uniforms. That kind of reversal had more to do with appeasement--with the vain hope that appeasing Baathists could curb the violence. But the exact opposite, of course, is true. Whether they were for or against de-Baathification, Iraqis recognize what a disastrous policy this reversal was. I expect de-Baathification to become a central plank of the new government.

Makiya makes a lot of sense. Such appeasement policies may be one reason why aggression against the US has increased, rather than diminished, since 9/11...

Close Guantanamo Now

This latest news story,U.S. Confirms Gitmo Soldier Kicked Quran , is reason enough to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay and find a better way to deal with suspected terrorists. While some may argue that such things happen in every war, that the British had a similar setup at the notorious Maze prison where IRA members were held, that some of those who criticize the US have done worse, the Guantanamo stories are not only a shame and an embarrassment to the US, they serve to undermine the administration's own efforts to be acting in the interests of democracy. Curiously, it is pretty clear from the response to the Amnesty International report that Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld just don't "get it." From a practical--as well as moral-- standpoint, Guantanamo should be closed, and the prisoners receive judicial review to determine their guilt or innocence.

The Living Poem to Capitalism

Radley Balko's hymn to Wegman's, which just opened near Dulles Airport, is worth readinghere:

This supersized souk (it's twice the size of most large grocery stores) has its competitors worried. And rightly so. In its first year of operation, Wegmans' first D.C.-area store did more business than the six area Harris-Teeter stores combined. Forbes wrote in 2003 that in an era when traditional grocers are being devoured by Wal-Mart, Wegmans isn't merely surviving, it's thriving. The grocery industry has lost 13,500 stores since 1992, Forbes points out, yet Wegmans continues to open new ones. That has the D.C.-area's traditional grocers worried. And so they're looking to government to keep their competitor at arm's length -- or at least across the river in Virginia.

The Gazette article reports that Marylanders are 'begging' for a Wegmans. Both the company and the Montgomery County council have gotten numerous letters pining for one. Unfortunately, their government isn't serving them. Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan has introduced legislation making it more difficult for 'big box' stores like Wegmans (along with Target and Wal-Mart) to set up shop in the area. Duncan cites concerns about 'smart growth' policies, environmental concerns, and traffic as reasons for his proposal. The latter is rather peculiar. The philosophy behind big box stores is that they offer lots of things in one place, saving time, hassle and -- one would think -- gas and traffic congestion.

Nevertheless, when the progressive (read: big government) county council held hearings last summer on the new proposal, representatives from the two stalwart grocers in the area -- Giant and Safeway -- asked for tougher zoning laws, almost specifically tailored to the goal of keeping a Wegmans from opening in the county. Both cited congestion and infrastructure issues, but both also rather bluntly conceded that they were also worried about the competition. They were more than okay with using regulation to step on a competitor.

Maybe DC can invite a Wegman's into Anacostia to speed redevelopment? I'd drive there in a jiffy...

America's Choice

Thanks to Little Green Footballs for this link toVictor Davis Hanson's latest:

Where will it all end? Our choices are threefold.

We can wind down -- essentially the position of the mainstream Left -- and return to a pre-September 11 situation, treating Islamism as a criminal justice matter or deserving of an occasional cruise missile. This, in my view, would be a disaster and guarantee another mass attack.

Or we can continue to pacify Iraq. We then wait and see whether the ripples from the January elections-- without further overt American military action into other countries -- bring democracy to Lebanon, Egypt, the Gulf States, and eventually the entire Middle East. This is the apparent present policy of the administration: talking up democracy, not provoking any who might disagree. It may well work, though such patience requires constant articulation to the American people that we are really in a deadly war when it doesn't seem to everyone that we are.

Or we can press on. We apprise Syria to cease all sanctuary for al Qaedists and Iran to give up its nuclear program -- or face surgical and punitive American air strikes. Such escalation is embraced by few, although many acknowledge that we may soon have few choices other than just that. But for now we can sum up the American plans as hoping that democracy spreads faster than Islamism, and thus responsible government will appear to ensure terrorists and WMD disappear.

The above, of course, is what we plan, but gives no consideration to the intent of the enemy. As we speak, he desperately searches for new strategies to ward off defeat as jihad seems more likely to lead to ruin than the return of the caliphate.

For now Islamic fascist strategy is to make such horrific news in Iraq that America throws up its hands and sighs, "These crazy people simply aren't worth it," goes home, snoozes -- and thus becomes ripe for another September 11.

Starbucks in Moscow

It's about time. The first Russian Starbucks has opened in Moscow's Renaissance Hotel. Commerce secretary Andrew Somers was there, and told the assembled latte-lovers: "You are doing a lot more than opening a coffee shop. You are spreading values, and we are really proud of that."

My personal values include a skinny venti ice mocha--with whip...

From Olle Wastberg's Lips to the Nobel Prize Committees Ears...

In today's New York Times the former Swedish Consul General nominates former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the Nobel Peace Prize. One reason is that Rudy saved some 10,000 lives:

Or, in more human terms, it would appear that over the last 12 years the policies Mr. Giuliani put in place have spared New York perhaps 10,000 murders, 15,000 rapes and 800,000 robberies. This is clearly a humanitarian accomplishment of great magnitude.

Unlike my April 1st nomination of George W. Bush, this is not an April Fool's joke. I'm a native New Yorker who didn't believe the city could be saved--until Rudy Giuliani turned it around! I had the privilege of meeting Hizzoner at a Gracie Mansion reception for a UN photo exhibit dedicated to diplomats who saved Jews from Nazis during WWII (one of them, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, saved my mother's family), by granting visas, often against the policies of their own governments. It was at the same time of the Elian Gonzales showdown in Miami, and Hilary Clinton, who had been invited, did not attend, perhaps because she was deporting the child refugee back to Castro's tender bosom at the point of a semi-automatic weapon. In any case Giuliani quoted Winston Chuchill about there being a special place in hell reserved for those who see evil and do nothing about it. Then he shook hands with everyone in the room who wanted to. I rushed up. He had the warmest handshake that I ever felt, and I was almost overcome. This was before 9/11--when he showed such heroism at the World Trade Center.

Like Olle Wastberg, whose fellow Swede Raoul Wallenberg was honored the same day I met Hizzoner, I want Giuliani to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Dutch Against EU Constitution, Too...

The Financial Times poll shows Dutch to join French in rejecting EU treaty. Remember, it's the constitution that they are rejecting, not the free-trade zone...

Deep Throat Outs Self

The news that Mark Felt, number 2 at the FBI in the Nixon administration, has come forward to reveal that he was "Deep Throat" is interesting. Some thoughts:

1. I really thought I would never live long enough to learn who "Deep Throat" was. The Nixon years formed me, Woodward and Bernstein and crusading journalists were heros, I fell for the whole thing. I demonstrated against Nixon while in high school. Only later did I see what a difficult job he had, how close the US came to losing the Cold War, and the myriad other things a teenager is unaware of. Still, Nixon did himself in--as he admitted.. Now it seems, ironically, that if Nixon had only promoted Felt to replace Hoover, instead of bringing in L. Patrick Gray, Watergate might have been avoided. Hell hath no fury like a civil servant passed over for promotion... Felt himself was convicted for doing "black bag jobs" and pardoned by President Reagan, so the actual Watergate burglary clearly wasn't the issue. As everyone said at that time, it wasn't the crime, it was the cover-up.

2. I'm glad there really was a "Deep Throat." By now, I'd gotten a little too cynical about the press, and sometimes doubted that he existed. It makes me feel a little better about the myth/reality ratio in the world.

3. One man can make a difference. Really.

4. Warning to President Bush: You can't even trust the FBI (I think Clinton already learned this...).

Wake Up, the West is Losing...

Sarah Baxter's articleWake up, the West is losing in The Sunday Times caught my attention during my British stopover. It is a profile of David Selborne and his new book The Losing Battle with Islam. Here's a sample:

When David Selbourne flew into America recently, he had good reason to feel he had arrived in the land of the free. His new book, The Losing Battle with Islam, was featured at New York's Book Expo, the US publishing industry's trade fair last week, after it failed to find a British publisher.

One glance at the title and it is easy to see why. The Losing Battle With Islam is a blistering critique of the West's response to Muslim militancy. Publishers in London were far too pusillanimous and PC to take it on, says Selbourne indignantly. But in America, a nation with greater intellectual vigour, Prometheus Books stepped into the breach and it will be published in September.

The manuscript has already been circulating in intellectual circles in samizdat form and it may yet find a British publisher now the Americans are leading the way. But the big brush-off is a prime example of Selbourne's thesis that westerners are displaying a misplaced and muddle-headed sensitivity to Muslim feelings that is not always reciprocated.

I caught up with him in Washington, where he was meeting think-tankers, policy makers and opinion-formers. "It's a relief to talk to people who are engaged in this matter," he sighed. "This is the front line of what matters in the world." He feels the non-Muslim world is ignoring at its peril the challenge posed by a resurgent Islam.

What Good Are The Arts?

Here's a review by British novelist David Lodge of What Good Are The Arts? by John Carey, in the Sunday Times. I couldn't buy the book at Manchester Airport's Waterstone's while delayed changing planes for seven hours. But the review really makes me want to read what Carey has to say. Here's Lodge's plug:

The fact that some of the worst Nazi war criminals, including Hitler (fascinating evidence for this coming from a book by Frederick Spott), were connoisseurs of music, visual art and architecture demonstrates that high culture does not necessarily have an ennobling effect on those who appreciate it. The writer George Steiner, who wrestled long and hard with this paradox, came to the conclusion that ultimately art cannot be justified by purely secular criteria — that it is essentially a religious activity, since the artist seeks a kind of immortality through his work. Carey will have none of this: “talk of the immortality of art, in the absence of a belief in God, is childish and self- deceiving”.

I hope they put out an American edition, soon...

Khodorkovsky Convicted

The New York Times says he's been sentenced to 10 years, minus 19 months for time already served, ending in 2012.

It would certainly have been better for business if Bush had publicly pressed Putin on Khodorkovsky's case at Moscow's V-E day celebrations, perhaps with a speech at my university there--the Russian State Humanitarian University, founded by Khodorkovsky. Bush's strategy of bloviating in Latvia and Georgia, plus silence in Moscow, now seems weak and cowardly.

The thought of Khodorkovsky rotting in jail for 10 years will no doubt make investors think twice about doing business in Russia. Bush might recover this situation a litte by asking Putin to pardon Khodorkovsky, offering to admit the convicted tycoon to the USA as a political refugee. Putin could strip him of Russian citizenship, a shameful thing to proud Russians, and be rid of a political rival--yet improve the business climate by letting Khodorkovsky go.

The French "Non!"

France's vote against the European constitution may have resulted from electoral tactics on the part of the "Oui" campaign, which mailed a copy of the proposed EU constitution to every voter, accompanied by a slick PR blitz by celebrities. Its incredible length--over 200 pages--would have been enough to convince anyone to vote against it. If the EU tries this trick again, they might want to limit their revised constitution to the length of the US model, and precede the election with something like our "Federalist Papers" debate, featuring actual intellectuals arguing the pros and cons in the press, a true debate, which is what the French used to be famous for, at least when I went to college a generation ago...

Ann Coulter on Bill Moyers

Couldn't resist linking to this item at AnnCoulter.com:

As the extra little cherry on top, all Moyers' nut conspiracy theories were being broadcast on PBS, subsidized by the U.S. taxpayer. Not only that, but Moyers takes a cut of every video of his show sold, and he has family members on the payroll. Let's see now: a corrupt, partisan demagogue and his family caught feeding at the taxpayers' trough. Let's just hope he never took a free golfing trip to Scotland!

When Ken Tomlinson, chair of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, suggested that PBS was maybe a smidgen left of center, Moyers began his lengthy public nervous breakdown. Already well-known as an insufferable jerk, it turns out Moyers is also a crazy megalomaniac, too.

In a recent speech to the the National Conference on Media Reform -- a conference dedicated to increasing liberal representation in the media from 94.6 percent to 99.8 percent -- Moyers responded to his critics by reading from his fan mail, reading favorable news articles about himself, and comparing himself to Jesus Christ or, as he put it, 'one of our boys.' If it were possible that he actually believed in God, PBS would be doing a special report on Moyers after a remark like that.

Only thing Ann missed was a plug for my PBS book.

Special Offa: Walking the Offa's Dyke Path

Before we left on vacation some two weeks ago, I was thinking about writing a book about our walking holiday. Then, at a farmhouse in North Wales, I came across Bob Bibby's Special Offa: Walking the Offa's Dyke Path. I read the chapter on the bit we had just walked, a description of climbing up and down hills on hands and knees in rain and mud.No one could do any better than Bob Bibby, so I ordered this book from Amazon.co.uk...

Copenhagen's 'Pusher Street' Closed

In Copenhagen for a conference, discovered that Christiana's famous 'Pusher Street'--where drugs were openly traded--was closed by the government last year, a new conservative coalition. That, plus the fact that Danes have been targeted in a 'fatwa' calling for jihad issued by the local chapter of Hizb-ut-Tahrir (anyone want to blame this on poverty?) a few years ago, makes Wonderful Copenhagen seem more like a real-world place. Of course it is still weirdly perfect-seeming, beautiful canals, bicycles, driverless metros. And very expensive. Even the conference-goers from Germany find the prices here sky-high. Dinner last night at a Mexican restaurant near the Fredriksberg Shopping Center. The owner joked that he got here after being kidnapped from his Mexican village by a Viking. Actually, he comes from Mexico City. So the menu featured authentic Mole but not inauthentic Fajitas or Burritos.

The new glass and steel Opera House donated by Maersk SeaLand looks nice on the waterfront, though Danes apparently all hate it (who knew they hated anything?), and the Little Mermaid statue has been fully repaired, after past decapitations and amputations.

Denmark doesn't use the Euro, rather their own Kroner, and is suspicious of the EU. It is expected that the Danes will vote against the new EU constitution in an upcoming referendum, especially if France votes 'Non' on Sunday.

Just when you take a vacation...

Uzbekistan explodes.

Luckily, while we've been off on a walking holiday in Wales, Nathan Hamm's excellent Central Asia website Registan.net has been keeping up with the ever-changing news.

Docents, 1--National Gallery of Art, 0

Jackie Trescott's excellent Washington Post story on the docents recent victory over Earl "Rusty" Powell's inept administration of the National Gallery of Art in Washington isn't available online as text, but you can read it as an image file here, under the headline "Gallery's School Tours to Continue:Art Museum Officials Apologize to Docents."

Trescott deserves praise for reporting this, the docents for standing up to the bureaucrats, and the Post for running with the scandal. (Note to Pulitzer Prize Committee: Give an award to Jackie Trescott!)

Andrew Ferguson Predicts: PBS To Become More Boring . . .

Article in the Washington Post today about Democratic Congressmen calling for an investigation of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds PBS. When Senator Pressler did this a decade back, with some help from yours truly, the mainstream media called asking questions about taxpayer funded programs "McCarthyism" and "intimidation." the investigation shut down, and I published "PBS: Behind the Screen."

Now, if the Democrats really want to do this, let's actually investigate CPB, have public hearings, and let the American taxpayers find out who is really politicizing public broadcasting (HINT: it's not the Republicans). As Ronald Reagan said in another context: "Make my day."

In any case, adding his amusing two cents to the controversy over the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is Bloomberg.com's Andrew Ferguson:

Public broadcasting producers and bureaucrats aren't happy. A forum for producers in New York last year erupted in shouts and general rancor against the Tomlinson regime. One producer even complained that a new documentary series on terrorism amounted toCPB asking him to ``do the bidding of the Pentagon.''

Where will it end? Some press critics, most recently Jack Shafer of the online magazine Slate, have revived calls to privatize public broadcasting once and for all. But that's unlikely: We've been there before. Even those Republican congressmen fretting about bias like having CPB dollars flowing into their districts.

Others, me included, predict confidently that public broadcasting will survive, though perhaps a bit more boringly than before, if such a thing is possible.

Actually, a thorough congressional investigation might persuade Congress to reprogram CPB's entire appropriation to pay for armor American troops in Iraq need to protect them from terrorist attacks...

Moscow Times on Russia's V-E Day Parade

Nabi Abdullaev, one of the best writers, has a good account of Putin's Parade in Moscow:

As an orchestra struck up a triumphant march, the parade started on the square with a procession of cadet drummers and standard-bearers. They were followed by formations of soldiers wearing World War II-style uniforms and carrying insignias symbolizing the different military units that fought in the war. The formations included sappers carrying mine detectors and leading sniffer dogs on leashes; tank men in black uniforms and padded headsets; and infantrymen brandishing long Mosin rifles with bayonets.

As the cavalry passed by the viewing stands, the orchestra muffled its music to avoid scaring the horses, although some still shied nervously on the granite cobblestones.

A total of 7,000 soldiers participated in the parade.

When legendary wartime polutorka trucks entered the square, thousands of war veterans wearing shiny medals leaped to their feet in the reviewing stands. Veterans sitting in the trucks waved red carnations as tears ran down their cheeks. Putin smiled back at them, his own eyes red with tears. Ivanov, his eyes also watery with tears, applauded and pressed his hands over his breast.

Of the foreign dignitaries, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi cheered the veterans most enthusiastically. Japan's Koizumi was most reserved. 'His stern face meant that he was expressing respect,' a spokesman for the Japanese delegation, Akira Chiba, explained later.

As the trucks rolled through the square, 12 fighter jets -- in two formations of nine and three planes -- screamed overhead, painting the sky with red, blue and white smoke to form the national flag.

The Moscow Times also has a nice online photo essay.

German Jewish Leader Criticizes Holocaust Memorial

From South Africa's News24.com, comes this account of an attack on Berlin's newest public art project by Paul Spiegel, head of the Central Council of German Jews (thanks to Roger L. Simon for the link) : "Spiegel said any abstract work attempting to depict the Holocaust, such as Berlin's memorial, was fated to lose out in the bid to prevent people from forgetting past horrors. He underlined that the real Holocaust memorials - aside from Yad Vashem in Israel - were the former Nazi concentration camps, the mass graves and the burned-down synagogues in Germany and across Europe."

Indeed, Spiegel has a point. Perhaps all of Continental Europe might be seen as a Holocaust Memorial for the dead--and Israel as a Holocaust Memorial for the living...

Georgia: Torture Still Goes Unpunished

Some background for President Bush's visit to Tblisi from a recent report by Human Rights Watch

(Tbilisi, April 13, 2005)--Since the 'Rose Revolution'that brought a new government to power in 2003, the Georgian authorities have failed to end widespread torture of detainees in the criminal justice system, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today.The government hasn't adequately grappled with torture...The 27-page briefing paper, 'Georgia: Uncertain Torture Reform' describes the ongoing impunity for torture, a problem that persists despite some government measures taken to combat it.

The briefing paper documents how the new government's campaigns against corruption and organized crime led to new allegations of due process violations, including torture and ill-treatment. It also details the measures the government has taken to combat torture. These include outside monitoring of police stations and steps to improve police professionalism, particularly in the collection of evidence.

The briefing paper details several cases of torture, including cases that highlighted problems associated with the new plea-bargaining system that the current government enacted last year. Law enforcement officials used the plea-bargaining system to cover up allegations of torture, promising lower penalties to defendants who agreed to the officials' version of events, which did not include the allegations of police abuse. Officials asked for monetary payments in exchange for releasing the defendant from custody.

Another Picture Moment for President Bush

Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.: Bush Wrong on Yalta

Writing in The Huffington Post, JFK's favorite historian says Yalta was a realistic deal based on the military balance-of-power on the ground in Europe.

Waypath - Blog Discovery Engine

I found the item about the US Army band via a google link toWaypath - Blog Discovery Engine. It's interesting...

U.S. Army Band Marches Through Kremlin

This interesting item on the 60th Anniversary of V-E Day celebrations in Moscow, fromThe Greatest Jeneration :

When someone called to strike up a stirring military march for a parade through central Moscow, hardly anyone ever imagined it would be 'The Stars and Stripes Forever.' Or that the Stars and Stripes itself, hoisted aloft by an Army sergeant, would lead the U.S. Army Europe Band up the Russian capital's main thoroughfare, past cheering crowds, to greet a train full of Russian war veterans.

'I've met every president. I've met hundreds of kings and queens. But marching through Moscow behind three of my soldiers carrying the American flag is pretty much the highlight of my career,' said Lt. Col. Thomas H. Palmatier, commander of the Army band, which came here along with President Bush and other U.S. officials to help mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. 'We played inside the Kremlin walls! We played 'The Stars and Stripes Forever'

The Russian Army band played "The Holy War," a number from World War II. Some lyrics: "Rise up, great country/ Rise up for mortal combat/ Against the dark fascist force,/ Against the damned horde!"

Invitation to a History of Beheading

In Middle East Quarterly - Spring 2005: "Islamic civilization is not a historical anomaly in its sanction of decapitation.[36] The Roman Empire beheaded citizens (such as the Christian Saint Paul) while they crucified noncitizens (such as Jesus Christ). French revolutionaries employed the guillotine to decapitate opponents. Nevertheless, Islam is the only major world religion today that is cited by both state and non-state actors to legitimize beheadings. And two major aspects of decapitation in an Islamic context should be noted: first, the practice has both Qur'anic and historical sanction. It is not the product of a fabricated tradition. Second, in contradiction to the assertions of apologists, both Muslim and non-Muslim, these beheadings are not simply a brutal method of drawing attention to the Islamist political agenda and weakening opponents' will to fight. Zarqawi and other Islamists who practice decapitation believe that God has ordained them to obliterate their enemies in this manner. Islam is, for this determined minority of Muslims, anything but a 'religion of peace.' It is, rather, a religion of the sword with the blade forever at the throat of the unbeliever."

Putin's V-E Day Speech

In his address, Vladimir Putin made a direct connection between WWII and today's Global War on Terror:

Six decades later, this memory and the solidarity our people showed are still important to us. And we need a clear-sighted, lucid attitude to the lessons of war, in connection with the danger of contemporary threats.

There should be no illusions: the ideas of fascism and racial superiority still persist. They are still very strong and may, by setting nations on to fight and by duping people, lead to a new catastrophe.

Similar ideas lie at the base of extremism and terrorism, which the modern world has already encountered. And they are just as ruthless as Nazism. Understanding this, we must strengthen cooperation in the war on this evil, which genuinely threatens civilisation.

I am certain: the international community has every capability for this. A resource of cooperation has already been built up. There is an understanding of the need to prevent new dangers together. And together to oppose them.

Without exaggeration, a recognition of this was earned by suffering in the period of the Second World War. It was strengthened and built up as we emerged from the era of global ideological confrontation. And it is required once more, in our times, during the formation of the international anti-terrorist coalition.

Denver Post: Pull the Plug on PBS

Michael Booth writes:

Pull the $390 million federal plug on the PBS parent and the local stations, -- and force some change. If the old shows have a following, find a way to put them online, then spend that federal money more wisely by helping hook up poor households to broadband Web service.

Experiment with video blogging, podcasting and cellphone transmissions, where all media must eventually go if they want a future audience. The public is finding its voice in ways that have little to do with old concepts of public television, and the medium needs to change radically to survive.

Or not. Local stations could stick with the formula that generates 85 percent of funding and make it work. Unhook the federal tether and use local donors' money to serve the local area. The people, as individuals or foundations, already give most of the money. They should feel at least half of the programming is generated locally and aimed straight at them. If local stations want to buy national programming, they would use their membership and local foundation and university money to seek material from providers rejuvenated by new competition.

The counterarguments have become as old as the programs. This nation will not be funding public television with European-style dollars anytime soon. A new tax on other media to better fund PBS is about as likely as Howard Stern hosting 'NOVA.'

It is time to search for new ideas rather than hunker bitterly behind the old ones.

(Thanks to Artsjournal.com for the link)

WSJ: Bush Should Visit Graves of Stalin's Victims

David Satter writes: "It is too late for President Bush to decline to go to Moscow as the presidents of Lithuania and Estonia have done, citing Russia's refusal to admit and apologize for crimes committed in the Baltics. Mr. Bush, nonetheless, would be doing a real service to history if, in addition to participating in the celebrations, he would also visit the Butovo firing range south of the city where the bodies of at least 20,000 victims of Stalin's Great Terror lie in mass graves. In contrast to the meticulous attention devoted to anything to do with World War II, Butovo is neglected. There is no museum or general memorial. The common graves are marked off with ropes. Until recently, the area was choked with weeds and used as a garbage dump. The number of visitors is minuscule--about 4,000 a year, mostly Orthodox believers and relatives of those buried there."

Kremlinologists of the World, Unite!

And decipher the meaning of this small talk at Putin's house on Sunday:

PRESIDENT PUTIN: Mr. President, allow me to cordially welcome you to Moscow. I'd like to thank you for having decided to visit Moscow to participate in the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, giving confirmation by that fact to the immense role played by the United States, Soviet Union and Russian Federation in the victory over Nazism.

Tomorrow we'll be pleased to receive our guests of ours. But the visit by the President of the United States is of special importance. On top of that, even today, we've enjoyed a very large volume of cooperation between our countries. And I hope that this cooperation will be helpful to us in addressing our domestic problems in both countries.

And I'm aware of the fact that you currently are confronted with immense tasks with respect to social sphere. (Laughter.) So if we are very positive in addressing those energy-related and security-related questions, that will be very helpful in addressing the problems which are confronted by people in the street in our countries. Besides, I recently visited the Middle East. Therefore, I'd like in this conversation with you today, to compare the notes regarding the current state of the Middle East.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Vladimir, thank you for having me. It's such an honor to be here. This locale where we are is a place where the President welcomed me and Laura two years ago. And it's great to be back here. I am looking forward to the celebration tomorrow. It is a moment where the world will recognize the great bravery and sacrifice the Russian people made in the defeat of Nazism. The people of Russia suffered incredible hardship, and yet the Russian spirit never died out.

I'm equally grateful that you would take -- invite me and Laura for dinner tonight. And having had one of your meals before, I'm looking forward to this one a lot.

PRESIDENT PUTIN: Recently I took a look at the coverage of your meeting with the press corps. Well, I could see how Laura attacked you sometimes, so at today's dinner we will have a chance to protect you. (Laughter.)

PRESIDENT BUSH: She was quite the comedian. But I'm looking forward to -- Russia is a great nation, and I'm looking forward to working on -- together on big problems. And I want to thank you for your work on Iran and the Middle East. And there's a lot we can do together. And so thank you for having us.

END

Khodorkovsky Case Clouds V-E Day Celebrations

Catherine Belton, in The Moscow Times:

Even as the Air Force prepares to prevent the clouds from raining on the Victory Day parade, there is one cloud that is likely to hang conspicuously over the head of President Vladimir Putin.

While the president plays host to world leaders on Monday, his country's most high-profile prisoner, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, will be awaiting a verdict a week later in a case seen as a turning point toward greater Kremlin dominance over political and economic life.

Prosecutors have called for a maximum, 10-year sentence for Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev, and their lawyers have said they expected no leniency on May 16. Some observers, however, have said they would not be surprised by a reduced sentence of five years.

If Putin seriously wants more American investment, he might want to let Khodorkovsky go.

Edward R. Murrow on VE Day

You can Hear It Now, thanks to a tip from Little Green Footballs.

This photo says it all...

Putin shows Bush how to drive his 1956 Volga sedan. Photo from the White House website.

For Whom the Drum Rolls

Alexander Golts says that Putin is taking this year's Victory Day celebrations away from WWII veterans, in The Moscow Times:

Thus Victory Day, appropriated for Putin's private use, has become a tool for settling international scores.

The Russian people, veterans included, have no place in the festivities. This was made abundantly clear not long ago by Nikolai Kulikov, a Moscow city government liaison with law enforcement agencies. 'Our hope is that the weather will be conducive to traveling out of the city and that the majority of Moscow residents will leave for their dachas.' Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov later attempted to correct Kulikov's tactless statement by asserting that millions of Muscovites would join in the festivities. Never mind that they'll only be able to 'join in' on the outskirts of the city. Metro stations in the city center will be closed on May 9, and road traffic within the Boulevard Ring will be severely restricted. The organizers have also made it as difficult as possible for people to reach the Bolshoi Theater, a traditional meeting place for war veterans. On May 8, Putin will meet with a group of heavily vetted veterans; those without special passes will be turned away. On May 9, Pushkinskaya will be the closest working metro station to the Bolshoi Theater, meaning that vets in their 80s will have to walk about two kilometers to meet up with their comrades-in-arms.

This is not simply a matter of bureaucratic incompetence in the mayor's office and the presidential administration. The Victory Day celebration plans clearly demonstrate the Kremlin's desire to exclude the people from this most popular of holidays. And they seem to have succeeded. Russians were indignant when the Latvian president made a scornful remark about veterans here celebrating Victory Day by setting out dried fish and vodka on a sheet of newspaper. Well, that's exactly what's going to happen because, as it turns out, the leadership of this country treats its veterans with equal disdain. Masking this disdain with speeches and drum rolls doesn't change a thing.

Richard Lawrence Cohen on NYC's Third Avenue Bombing

From Richard Lawrence Cohen:

845 Third Avenue

Maybe there'll be something I can write about in the Times today? I thought as I headed for the computer, and there it was on the front page of the online edition: a building where I used to work, its lobby windows shattered by a bomb. 845 Third Avenue, between 51st and 52nd Streets, is a high-rise office building that houses the British consulate, so the attack must be connected to today's election. It was jolly decent of that Brit, though, to set it off at 3:50 am when no one would be hurt. The bomb consisted of two toy grenades -- one of them the size of a pineapple -- filled with gunpowder.

I worked there from September 1977 to September 1979, reading manuscripts for a literary agency. It was a schizoid agency -- on one hand its clients included Norman Mailer and Garry Wills and a mob of successful genre writers, and on the other hand it charged reading fees to amateurs. I've calculated that I read 3,500 manuscripts there in five years (there had been an earlier stretch at a different address), typing a million words a year. The outside world did not know that the reading fees paid the agency's overhead; the legitimate stuff was all gravy.

I was one of the half-dozen 'fee men' who read who skimmed two or three full?length books each working day and, for each book, pounded out a 2,000-word rejection letter containing various proportions of formulaic advice, sarcastic or sincere consolation, genuine craftsmanly evaluation, and false encouragement. We sat in a white room the size of a smallish bedroom, divided into six cubicles, each with a heavy battleship-gray IBM Selectric that, under our abuse, needed a new ribbon every week or two and frequent oilings and alignments. That was where I learned to pour out copy. I had got the job straight out of college by taking a test consisting of reading a Western short story -- cunningly crafted to include every possible literary and marketing flaw -- and writing a letter to the author. I got the job despite the fact that I couldn't type, and by necessity I got my speed up to 100 words a minute with four fingers . . .

Michael Rubin: Sharansky is Right

From Middle East Forum: "While true democracy is the Achilles heel of Middle Eastern dictatorships, insincere commitment to democracy can undercut peace and security. The sincerity of terrorists should no more be trusted than that of dictators. They may adopt democratic rhetoric - but words are cheap. Any organization that targets civilians for political gain should be irredeemable regardless of whether, like Hamas and Hezbollah, the group provides social services: If Oxfam or Save the Children blew up buses, they would be terrorist groups, not humanitarian organizations."

Bush's Baltic States Blunder?

In a Moscow Times story titled Victory Day Promises Pride and Pomp, the authors analyze President Bush's revival of the controversy over the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact in the context of the May 9th Victory Day celebrations:

Ahead of the world leaders' visit to Moscow, Russian diplomats and lawmakers have sought to justify the Kremlin's refusal to condemn the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, arguing that the treaty was dissolved by Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.

Also, since the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet in 1991 denounced the treaty's secret protocols that detailed the carve-up of Poland and the occupation of the Baltic states, another denunciation is not necessary, Pikayev said.

Sergei Yastrzhembsky, Putin's envoy to the EU, said that Russia would not apologize to the Baltic states either. Soviet troops were not occupiers but welcome liberators, he said.

His comments were echoed by Federation Council member and last Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov, who said that the Baltic countries 'should be grateful' for Soviet occupation. These countries 'should themselves apologize' for the fact that some of their residents fought on the German side in the war, Interfax reported him as saying.

I'm not a diplomat or a historian, but I'd say Bush may be snatching defeat from the jaws of victory here. Does he really want to get into a fight over this issue? America's record isn't perfect, either. First, the US itself stayed neutral until December 7, 1941 as Hitler smashed his way across Europe. American companies such as Ford and Standard Oil did business with the Nazis during this period. Second, the US refused to open a second front until June 1944, after Russia had bled considerably to stop the Nazis, bearing the brunt of the fighting, and England had been almost crushed by the Blitz. Third, the US agreed to the division of Europe at Yalta, a very sore point among Polish-Americans at the time. Finally, the USSR renounced the pact already.

If Bush were just to make a public statement congratulating the USSR (a nostalgic fantasyland of power, plenty and peace in the minds of many Russians today) for renouncing the carve-up of Poland and the Baltic States, pocketing that victory and sharing credit with Russia, then moving forward to the future, that might be a diplomatic advance. Instead, Bush appears to be moving backwards and stoking old resentments.

Bush must remember that Nazis killed some 20 million Russians and devastated the country. Cold war propaganda made much of the fact that the US was siding with former Nazis against the USSR. Yes, many Russians still see Estonians, Latvians, and Ukrainians as Nazis. Bush and the US should be sensitive to that perception--and explain why they are not Nazis now, why they are better off as part of the West, how America helped them out of a totalitarian past, and will help Russia likewise.

Rather than raise painful disagreements about tragic events of 50+ years ago, Bush might do better to a outline a positive vision for full US-Russian partnership in confronting the new mutual enemy of Islamic fundamentalism: announce that the US will no longer support Chechen terrorists, offer partnership with Russia in stabilizing Iraq, and demand the Russians take some concrete steps towards a more US-friendly society, such as releasing Mikhail Khodorkovsky...

UPDATE: By way of contrast, President Clinton handled the 50th Anniversary of V-E day Moscow ceremonies adroitly. You can read the agreements on nonproliferation and the future of Europe, resulting from his diplomacy with Boris Yeltsin, here. A sample result:

Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin conducted a thorough review of progress toward their shared goal of a stable, secure, integrated and undivided democratic Europe. They agreed that the end of military confrontation, ideological conflict, and division of the Euro-Atlantic region into opposing blocs has created an historic opportunity for all of its peoples. They emphasized their determination to cooperate closely to ensure that in the future, all peoples of the Euro-Atlantic region shall enjoy the benefits of a stable, just and peaceful order.

Bush might do well to come up with a similar joint statement regarding the Middle East in his one-on-one meeting with Putin.

Jack Shafer: Time to Pull the Plug on PBS

From Slate, PBS Unplugged - President Bush gives us a new reason to wean public broadcasting from the government teat: "For the longest time, calling for the defunding of public broadcasting was a Republican pastime. Now that the GOP rules public broadcasters, who will be the first Democrat brave enough to call for the end of PBS and NPR as we know them?" (thanks to artsjournal.com for the link).

Election Day in Great Britain

You can follow the voting on Sky News. I'll stick my neck out and make a prediction: Tony Blair will be re-elected Prime Minister, when Labor wins control of Parliament.

Vappu

Just came back from a Vappu party at the Finnish embassy here in Washington. It wasn't as wild as the Finnnish celebrations of May Day that took place in Finland, at least not by the time I left, but it was a lot of fun. They even had furniture that looked straight out of the set of an Austin Powers movie . . .

The Soviet Army's Role in WWII

As V-E Day approaches, this seemed like a good item to share with readers. I recently received a copy of an email from a WWII vet, who had been an officer in the US Army's 6th Armored Division in Germany at the time of V-E Day. Here's what he had to say to a friend about the Russian role in the Second World War, sparked by the new German film on Hitler's last days in the bunker:

. . . yeeesss that horrid rat slime bag, adolph hitler and his mistress eva braun died in that bunker in berlin as the ussr RED army troops were closing in on him,, he shot her and then took poison,,, his S S men then set fire to them out side of the bunker,!!!! in a dirt ditch. as the RED ARMY took over all of Berlin... and all the nazi troops gave UP !!!! P S. brieuc ,, the RED army WON ww2,,, i say that loud and clear !!!!!!!!! if it was not for the RED army,,,, we will still BE in NORMANDY... au revoir,, bon soir, MEL . . .

The Liberation of Dachau, 60 Years Ago

A personal account by Felix L. Sparks Brigadier General, AUS (Retired) about the April 29, 1945 liberation of the notorious Nazi camp:

After I entered the camp over the wall, I was not able to see the confinement area, and had no idea where it was. My vision was obscured by the many buildings and barracks which were outside the confinement area. The confinement area itself occupied only a small portion of the total camp area. As I went further into the camp, I saw some men from company I collecting German prisoners. Next to the camp hospital, there was a L-shaped masonry wall, about eight feet high, which had been used as a coal bin. The ground was covered with coal dust, and a narrow gage railroad track, laid on top of the ground, lead into the area. The prisoners were being collected in the semi-enclosed area.

As I watched about fifty German troops were brought in from various directions. A machine gun squad from company I was guarding the prisoners. After watching for a few minutes, I started for the confinement area. After I had walked away for a short distance, I hear the machine gun guarding the prisoners open fire. I immediately ran back to the gun and kicked the gunner off the gun with my boot. I then grabbed him by the collar and said: 'what the hell are you doing?' He was a young private about 19 years old and was crying hysterically. His reply to me was: 'Colonel, they were trying to get away.' I doubt that they were, but in any event he killed about twelve of the prisoners and wounded several more. I placed a non-com on the gun, and headed toward the confinement area.

It was the forgoing incident which has given rise to wild claims in various publications that most or all of the German prisoners captured at Dachau were executed. Nothing could be further from the truth. The total number of German guards killed at Dachau during that day most certainly not exceed fifty, with thirty probably being a more accurate figure. The regimental records for that date indicate that over a thousand German prisoners were brought to the regimental collecting point. Since my task force was leading the regimental attack, almost all the prisoners were taken by the task force, including several hundred from Dachau.

During the early period of our entry into the camp, a number of company I men all battle hardened veterans, became extremely distraught. Some cried, while others raged. Some thirty minutes passed before I could restore order and discipline. During that time, the over thirty thousand camp prisoners still alive began to grasp the significance of the events taking place. They streamed from their crowded barracks by the hundreds and were soon pressing at the confining barbed wire fence. They began to shout in unison, which soon became a chilling roar. At the same time several bodies were being tossed about and torn apart by hundreds of hands. I was told later that those being killed at the time were "informers." After about ten minutes of screaming and shouting, the prisoners quieted down. At that point, a man came forward at the gate and identified himself as an American soldier. We immediately let him out. He turned out to be Major Rene Guiraud of our OSS. He informed me that he had been captured earlier while on an intelligence mission and sentenced to death, but the sentence was never carried out.

You can read more about Sparks in his biography, Sparks: The Combat Diary of a Battalion Commander (Rifle, WWII, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Division, 1941-1945) by Emajean Jordan Buechner.

Yevgenia Albats on Victory Day in Moscow

From her column in The Moscow Times:

The long, festive brunch would evolve into preparations for dinner, when my parents' best friends and relatives would start to arrive. Uncle Yasha, Dad's best friend, began the war as a soldier in the people's militia, which was called up to defend Moscow when the Germans were on the outskirts of the city.

They were given one rifle, made in 1896, and a few bullets to share among five soldiers. Clearly, they were intended to defend Moscow with their bodies, as the majority of them did. Uncle Yasha survived, however, and was in Lithuania when the final victory came four years later.

Now aged 89, he feels even sicker than he already is when he hears from the Baltic states about the memorial erected to the soldiers of the Wehrmacht and the SS veterans marching the streets there.

The 60th anniversary of Victory Day, which Moscow will celebrate with much fanfare next Monday, along with some 56 visiting heads of state and other dignitaries, has nothing to do with my old folks. My 84-year-old mother was given an envelope with 1,000 rubles ($35) and a gift -- a cheap duvet that can hardly comfort her, dying as she is from cancer. The money is less than the price of the medical procedure she needs each day.

Uncle Yasha received the same 1,000 rubles, plus two wristwatches. Why two? He doesn't know, but he laughs: 'Two watches are exactly what I need right now, seeing as I've one foot in the grave.'

None of them even received a simple thank-you postcard from the president -- or anyone else, for that matter. (At least, 10 years ago, a card signed by Boris Yeltsin arrived in each veteran's home.)

Of course, next week's celebration is not about those who fought on the front lines defending the country. It is about the regime, whose best grandchildren are back in charge.

Russia to Alter Weather for V-E Day

Matt Drudge made fun of this headline, Russian pilots vs clouds at V-day parade, but as I wrote in the case of Moscow's Mayor Luzhkov earlier (see archives): while Americans might only talk about the weather, Russians do something about it...

Some Problems with the State Department Terrorism Report

According to B Raman, writing in Asia Times Online , American officials still miss some significant dots in global terrorism patterns, especially the dot in the Binori madrassah of Karachi:

There is now a growing convergence between the US analysis and mine, but there are still important differences. While throwing the spotlight on local and regional jihadi organizations, the State Department's analysis still fails to see them in the larger context of the role of the International Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Crusaders and the Jewish People. It projects the ideologies of the local organizations as inspired by that of al-Qaeda and fails to take note of and analyze the impact of the Deobandi ideology of the Pakistani jihadi organizations on the thinking of bin Laden and his organization.

In my assessment, the birth of the concept of a global jihad against the US and Israel could be traced to the Binori madrassa of Karachi; and the role of Ramzi Yousef of Pakistan and other perpetrators of the explosion at the New York World Trade Center in February 1993 in the spread of this concept has not been adequately analyzed by Western, Israeli and Australian experts. The New York explosion of February 1993 was the first shot in this global jihad and the preparations for it were made in the Binori madrassa and not in any set up of al-Qaeda.

It is surprising that these experts, who often tend to over-focus on the writings and statements of the late Abdullah Azam, have paid so little attention to the interview given by an unidentified leader of the HUM (then known as the Harkat-ul-Ansar) to Kamran Khan of the News of Islamabad in February 1995, which was carried by the paper under the title Jihad World-Wide. This interview contained a detailed account of the role of the HUM in the jihad in the southern Philippines. Kamran Khan subsequently came out with another investigative report on the efforts of Ramzi Yousef to export jihad to Saudi Arabia.

The repeated mistakes in analysis of the US could be attributed to the inclination of its experts to make their analyses suit the political agenda of their leaders, thereby failing to read the writing on the wall. Unless and until there is adequate self-correction, one cannot rule out a repeat of the terrorist attacks in the US, Bali, Mombasa, Casablanca, Madrid, etc.

COVERING CUBA 4: The Rats Below

Agustin Blazquez has a new documentary. It's called COVERING CUBA 4: The Rats Below. Here's the description from Cuba Collectibles:

Finally, the fourth installment of the series COVERING CUBA by the acclaimed filmmaker team of Agustin Blazquez and Jaums Sutton is available in a limited Special Edition DVD , exclusively through CubaCollectibles.com.

This limited Special Edition DVD features COVERING CUBA 4: The Rats Below. This 105-min. documentary exposes to the American people how the mighty power of a corporation influences the U.S. government - in this case the corrupt Clinton administration - and brings tragedy to an innocent child and everyone else in the way, using the Gold Rule of power, money and greed.

It is a fascinating story of intrigue and deceptions that the U.S. media censored because of the economic and political leverage of this corporation that sponsors many of the leading political programs on the major TV and Radio networks.

It is a story kept hidden because of the prevalent U.S. media dislike for a minority group in America.

It is a story of secret corporate manipulation of the U.S. government, the media and the American people creating support for their corporate greed, all while staying hidden just under the surface.

A Word from Our Sponsor

Just had to mention a conversation with Ben Wattenberg at the American Enterprise Institute after Tyler Cowen's talk. He asked me what I thought of the New York Times article on Ken Tomlinson's efforts at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. I answered that I didn't think much of Tomlinson or CPB, and added that the last PBS series hosted by a conservative on economics, that I knew of, was Milton Friedman's "Free to Choose," in 1979, that the last PBS series hosted by conservative was his show, Think Tank, which first went on the air in the Clinton administration. Wattenberg replied that his PBS series did start in 1994, but that his production company didn't get a dime from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting or PBS. He called Think Tank's relationship with PBS a "bastion of free enterprise," privately sponsored . . .

The New Yorker Profiles Douglas Feith

Pentagon war planner Douglas Feith is profiled by Jeffrey Goldberg in The New Yorker. The author tries to answer the question: Was General Tommy Franks correct when he characterized the Harvard and Georgetown Law grad as 'the f*****g stupidest guy on the face of the earth?'

Eugene Robinson on the Meaning of Abu Gharib

In yesterday's Washington Post: "Twenty years from now, how will we remember this 'global war on terrorism''? Assuming it's over by then -- assuming we haven't escalated a fight against al Qaeda into an all-out clash of civilizations -- will we look back on the GWOT, as Washington bureaucrats call it, and feel pride in the nation's resolve and sacrifice? Or will history's verdict be tempered by shame? The answer will depend on how this Congress comes to terms with the documented mistreatment of prisoners in Afghanistan, Guantanamo, Iraq and who knows where else in the secret archipelago of U.S. detention."

Is Grover Norquist an Islamist?

Daniel Pipes asks: "Is Grover Norquist an Islamist? Paul Sperry, author of the new book, Infiltration, in an interview calls Grover Norquist 'an agent of influence for Islamists in Washington.'" Norquist has been a major Republican fund-raiser, and used to work with Jack Abramoff, now under a cloud himself. The National Review Book Service gave this summary of Sperry's conclusion: "The ultimate goal of these subversives, according to Sperry -- quoting verbatim from some of the most respected and "mainstream" Muslim leaders in America -- is to replace the U.S. Constitution with sharia (Islamic) law and turn America into an Islamic state."