Castro & Catherine the Great
Hey Folks,
The article below tipped me off today that Steve Forbes was at it again – puttin’ out the propaganda, salivating impatiently as he awaits the plunder of Cuba he believes will come with the passing of Fidel Castro. Well, we shall see – at least those of us who out-live Fidel.
What I found most interesting was the correlation of this smear-piece with a recent PBS documentary on Russian aristocrat and empress Catherine the Great.
The documentary stirred some long-stored “knowledge” regarding the lady – i.e. that she was a nymphomaniac and had died as the result of a failed coupling with a horse. I’m not making this up – I didn’t hear it in junior high school. It wasn’t just “gossip.” As the documentary points out these slanderous charges were created out of nothing – by rival British and French imperialists – but were presented as absolute fact. Catherine was too good at empire-building and had to be diminished somehow.
Catherine did have a number of lovers, but was neither a nymphomaniac nor a beastophiliac.
We cannot, of course, know for sure the actual state of Castro’s “wealth,” but having seen what disgusting inventions greedy imperialists – seeking personal gain - were willing to pin on an innocent woman; my guess is that the characterization of Castro – to paraphrase the last sentence of the news item below – “is more fart than science.”
- Uke Man
Castro Denies Forbes Report on Wealth
By VANESSA ARRINGTON, Associated Press Writer Tue May 16, 4:12 AM ET
HAVANA - Cuban President Fidel Castro denounced a Forbes magazine report naming him one of the world's wealthiest rulers, putting in a special television appearance on Monday to rebut the story he called "rubbish."
In its May 5 article, "Fortunes Of Kings, Queens And Dictators," Forbes put Castro in 7th place in a group of 10 world leaders with "lofty positions and vast fortunes." The magazine estimated Castro's personal wealth to be $900 million — nearly double that of the $500 million of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and just under Prince Albert II of Monaco's estimated $1 billion.
The article also referred to rumors of Castro having "large stashes in Swiss bank accounts."
"All this makes me sick," Castro responded Monday on the communist government's daily public affairs program Mesa Redonda, or "Round Table." "Why should I defend myself against this rubbish?"
Later on the program, Castro pounded the table, saying, "If they can prove I have an account abroad ... containing even one dollar I will resign my post."
Castro also gave the floor to several top officials, including Central Bank President Francisco Soberon, to deny the claims and defend his integrity.
"It is absolutely impossible that someone in the upper levels of government — and especially not a leader (like Castro) ... who is recognized by the Cuban people as an example of humility and self-discipline — could maintain personal accounts abroad," Soberon said.
Soberon called the Forbes article "grotesque slander," and blamed the
CIA and a U.S. press controlled by "the empire" for the magazine's "vulgar and ridiculous" claims.
In explaining its calculations, Forbes said it assumed Castro has economic control over a web of state-owned companies including a convention center, a retail conglomerate and an enterprise that sells Cuban-produced pharmaceuticals.
Soberon said, however, that all the money made from those companies is pumped back into the island's economy, into sectors including health, education, science, security, defense and solidarity projects with other countries.
Forbes acknowledged in its article that the estimates for all the leaders are "more art than science."
The article below tipped me off today that Steve Forbes was at it again – puttin’ out the propaganda, salivating impatiently as he awaits the plunder of Cuba he believes will come with the passing of Fidel Castro. Well, we shall see – at least those of us who out-live Fidel.
What I found most interesting was the correlation of this smear-piece with a recent PBS documentary on Russian aristocrat and empress Catherine the Great.
The documentary stirred some long-stored “knowledge” regarding the lady – i.e. that she was a nymphomaniac and had died as the result of a failed coupling with a horse. I’m not making this up – I didn’t hear it in junior high school. It wasn’t just “gossip.” As the documentary points out these slanderous charges were created out of nothing – by rival British and French imperialists – but were presented as absolute fact. Catherine was too good at empire-building and had to be diminished somehow.
Catherine did have a number of lovers, but was neither a nymphomaniac nor a beastophiliac.
We cannot, of course, know for sure the actual state of Castro’s “wealth,” but having seen what disgusting inventions greedy imperialists – seeking personal gain - were willing to pin on an innocent woman; my guess is that the characterization of Castro – to paraphrase the last sentence of the news item below – “is more fart than science.”
- Uke Man
Castro Denies Forbes Report on Wealth
By VANESSA ARRINGTON, Associated Press Writer Tue May 16, 4:12 AM ET
HAVANA - Cuban President Fidel Castro denounced a Forbes magazine report naming him one of the world's wealthiest rulers, putting in a special television appearance on Monday to rebut the story he called "rubbish."
In its May 5 article, "Fortunes Of Kings, Queens And Dictators," Forbes put Castro in 7th place in a group of 10 world leaders with "lofty positions and vast fortunes." The magazine estimated Castro's personal wealth to be $900 million — nearly double that of the $500 million of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and just under Prince Albert II of Monaco's estimated $1 billion.
The article also referred to rumors of Castro having "large stashes in Swiss bank accounts."
"All this makes me sick," Castro responded Monday on the communist government's daily public affairs program Mesa Redonda, or "Round Table." "Why should I defend myself against this rubbish?"
Later on the program, Castro pounded the table, saying, "If they can prove I have an account abroad ... containing even one dollar I will resign my post."
Castro also gave the floor to several top officials, including Central Bank President Francisco Soberon, to deny the claims and defend his integrity.
"It is absolutely impossible that someone in the upper levels of government — and especially not a leader (like Castro) ... who is recognized by the Cuban people as an example of humility and self-discipline — could maintain personal accounts abroad," Soberon said.
Soberon called the Forbes article "grotesque slander," and blamed the
CIA and a U.S. press controlled by "the empire" for the magazine's "vulgar and ridiculous" claims.
In explaining its calculations, Forbes said it assumed Castro has economic control over a web of state-owned companies including a convention center, a retail conglomerate and an enterprise that sells Cuban-produced pharmaceuticals.
Soberon said, however, that all the money made from those companies is pumped back into the island's economy, into sectors including health, education, science, security, defense and solidarity projects with other countries.
Forbes acknowledged in its article that the estimates for all the leaders are "more art than science."
1 Comments:
Hi Tom,
I think it's interesting that Forbes admits his report is "more art than science." Doesn't that just mean he created the story - sort of like fiction! Sondra
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