[Reader-list] Fwd: (Fwd) Fidel Castro's Notes on Obama Tour to Asian States Nov 2009

[Venugopalan K M]

http://www.countercurrents.org/castro131109.htm

A Science Fiction Story

*By Fidel Castro*

13 November, 2009
*Countercurrents.org*

I very much regret to have to criticize Obama knowing that there are in that
country other could-be presidents worse than him. I am aware that that
position in the United States is today a major headache. The best example of
this is the report in yesterday’s edition of Granma that 237 US members of
Congress, or 44%, are millionaires. This does not mean that every one of
them is an incorrigible reactionary but it is extremely difficult that they
feel like the many million Americans who do not have access to medical care,
who are unemployed or who need to work very hard to earn their living.

Of course, Obama himself is no beggar; he owns millions of dollars. He
excelled as a professional and his command of language, his eloquence and
intellect are unquestionable. Also, he was elected president despite his
being an African American, a first time occurrence in the history of his
country’s racist society, which is enduring a profound international
economic crisis of its own making.

This is not about being an anti-American as the system and its huge media
intend to label its adversaries.

The American people are not the culprits but rather the victims of a system
that is not only unsustainable but worse still: it is incompatible with the
life of humanity.

The smart and rebellious Obama who suffered humiliation and racism in his
childhood and youth understands this, but the Obama educated by the system
and committed to it and to the methods that took him to the US presidency
cannot resist the temptation to pressure, to threaten and even to deceive
others.

He is a workaholic. Perhaps no other American president would dare to engage
in such an intense program as he intends to carry out in the next eight
days.

According to plan, he will take an extensive tour of Alaska where he intends
to address the troops stationed there. He will be visiting Japan, Singapore,
the People’s Republic of China and South Korea. He will attend the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) and that of the Association
of East Asian Nations (ASEAN). He will hold talks with the Prime Minister of
Japan and His Majesty Emperor Akihito in the land of the Rising Sun as well
as with the prime ministers of Singapore and South Korea and the presidents
of Indonesia Susilo Bambang, of Russia Dimitri Medvedev and of the People’s
Republic of China Hu Jintao. He will be making speeches and giving press
conferences. He will be carrying with him his nuclear briefcase, which we
hope he will have no need to use during his hasty tour.

His Security advisor has said that Obama will discuss with the president of
Russia the continuance of the START-1 Treaty set to expire on December 5,
2009. There is no doubt that some reductions of the enormous nuclear arsenal
will be agreed upon, albeit this will be of no consequence to world peace
and economy.

What is our distinguished friend planning to discuss during his intense
journey? The White House has made its solemn announcement: climate change
and economic recovery; nuclear disarmament and the Afghan war; and, the
risks of war in Iran and in the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea. There
is plenty of material to produce a science fiction book.

But, how can Obama unravel the problems of climate change when the position
of his representatives during the preparatory meetings of the Copenhagen
Summit on the greenhouse effect gas emissions was the worst among those of
the industrialized and rich nations, both in Bangkok and Barcelona, because
the United States chose not to sign the Kyoto Protocol and the oligarchy of
that country is not willing to really cooperate.

How can he contribute to the solution of the grave economic problems
afflicting a large part of humanity when at the end of 2008 the total debt
of the United States --including that of the federal, state and local
administrations, the businesses and families—amounted to 57 trillion
dollars, that is, over 400% of its GDP, and that country’s budget deficit
reached almost 13% of its GDP in fiscal year 2009, an information that Obama
is certainly aware of.

What can he offer Hu Jintao when his openly protectionist policies have been
aimed against the Chinese exports and he is demanding at all costs that the
Chinese government revaluates the Yuan, an action that would adversely
impact on the growing Third World imports from China?

The Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff, who is not a disciple of Karl Marx
but an honest catholic among others who are not willing to cooperate with
the imperialism in Latin America, has recently said that “….we are risking
our destruction and the devastation of life’s diversity.”

“[…] almost half of humanity is living today under the poverty line. The
wealthiest 20% are consuming 82.49% of all of the riches on Earth while the
poorest 20% are living on a tiny 1.6%.” He also quotes the FAO as he warns
that “…there will be in the upcoming years from 150 to 200 million climate
refugees.” And then he adds that “humanity is consuming today a 30% above
the regenerating capacity…the planet is giving unmistakable signs that it
can stand it no more.”

What he says is true, but Obama and the US Congress have yet to find out.

What is he leaving to us in the hemisphere? The shameful problem in Honduras
and the annexation of Colombia where the United States will set up seven
military bases. They also established a military base in Cuba more than
one-hundred years ago and remain there by force. It was in that base where
they installed the horrible torture center widely known around the world;
the same that Obama has been unable to close, yet.

I hold the view that before Obama completes his term there will be from six
to eight right-wing governments in Latin America that will be allies of the
empire. Likewise, the US extreme right will try to limit his administration
to one term. Once again there will be a Nixon, a Bush or the like of a
Cheney in the White House. Then, the meaning will be clear of those
absolutely unjustifiable bases threatening today the South American peoples
with the pretext of fighting drug-trafficking, a problem created by the tens
of billions of dollars that organized crime and the production of drugs in
Latin America receive from the United States.

Cuba has shown it only takes justice and social development to fight drugs.
In our country, the crime rate per 100,000 people is one of the lowest in
the world. No other country in the hemisphere can exhibit such low rates of
violence. It is known that, despite the blockade, no other country can boast
our high education levels.

The Latin American peoples will resist the onslaught of the empire!

Obama’s trip seems a science fiction story.


Fidel Castro Ruz

November 11, 2009



You cannot build anything on the foundations of caste. You cannot build up a
nation, you cannot build up a morality. Anything that you will build on the
foundations of caste will crack and will never be a whole.
-AMBEDKAR



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