Thursday/Friday, March 31-April 1, 2005



Last night, I gave a presentation about Iraq to the Atheist Coalition of San Diego. I went into detail about my 15 years of research and experiences.

The highlight of the speech was the debunking of myths about Iraq and Saddam Hussein, such as the gassing of the Kurds; Saddam’s capture by the U.S.; the human-shredding machine; etc. Most of the people in attendance had not heard the truth of these matters, however, many had been skeptical about the U.S. version of the country and leadership of Iraq.

I ended my talk with this statement: "The lies that we have been told have become a part of our folklore. The bigger the lie, the more it is believed. Then, when the truth is told, it appears to be absurd."

Of the group of about 50, not one supported the Iraqi invasion. And, when I was done, the entire group believed the legitimate government (not the stooges in Baghdad) of Iraq is currently in prison after being kidnapped.

For some reason, the thought processes of atheists are not taken into consideration by the U.S. media. During the buildup to and the execution of the illegal invasion of March 2003, all sorts of groups were asked their opinions, except atheists.

In my experience, atheists in the U.S. have a much more knowledgeable view of the Iraq issue than the so-called average U.S. citizen. They are, for the most part, anti-war and anti-imperialist.

Now, let’s go to a so-called "peace" group and see what it has to say about Iraq. This morning, I came across an article about the terrible state of health care in Iraq. Paragraphs spoke of the lack of medicine and facilities. Then, this shocking statement emerged:

More than 30 years ago, Iraq was a pioneer in healthcare in the Middle East, but under the former regime and economic sanctions, the country became bottom of the league table of health care spending per head of population.

Moreover, Saddam even limited medical training, fearing that qualified doctors would flee to the West …

These words could have come from the desk of Paul Wolfowitz, yet they were published by a "peace" website ( http://www.iwpr.net/home_index_new.html ). Talk about backwards, this is preposterous. Even the most ardent enemies of the Ba’athists gave them credit for bringing Iraq’s medical system into modernity and eventually making it the crown jewel of Middle Eastern healthcare systems. With groups like this around, the administration need not publish any propganda: just let the milquetoast leftists ramble.

During my speech last night, I mentioned the former outstanding Iraqi healthcare system during the Ba’athist days that was dismantled by the embargo against Iraq. An audience member stated, "Don’t forget to tell which country’s system it was based on." I immediately said, "Cuba."

The once-proud Iraqi system was similar to the Cuban model: the most encompassing healthcare system the world has ever seen for such a long period of time. The Cuban system is universal; meaning that anyone in the world can be treated in Cuba, not just Cuban nationals.

But, Cuba has been an enemy of the U.S. since 1960. Why? Successive administrations have demonized Cuba in the same manner as they did Iraq. But, Cuba did not have oil until recent finds showed there are reserves. Therefore, Cuba has not yet suffered the same fate as that of Iraq.

For decades, Cuba has been America’s bad guy. But, little information is given for the reason. "It’s a dictatorship," is the primary statement. So what? We have seen what "democracy" has done to Iraq and other countries who have fallen into the trap, either politically or militarily, that the U.S. has set for them.

Today, we have problems with our social security system in the U.S. Many maintain it will go bankrupt. We have high unemployment and much higher still underemployment.

But, the U.S. still calls Cuba backward and barbaric.

In the March 29 edition of Prensa Latina, a few interesting facts about the island just 90 miles off the coast of Florida:

* Daniel Martinez, the Regional Director of the Americas of the International Labor Organization described Cuba’s social security system as being "almost a miracle."
* Martinez explained, "In other countries, social security is funded by workers’ contributions and the state. Only exceptionally does the state fulfill its part because of fiscal deficits and other reasons. In Cuba, the contributions come from employers and mainly the state, with the characteristic that the state invariably fulfills its duty."
* The unemployment rate in Cuba is 1.9% (in the U.S. it is about 8%).
* In the rest of Latin America, unemployment is around 11%, and between 55 and 65 percent of the workers remain outside of the social security system.

Add to that the fact that Cuba has declared war on illiteracy and has the highest literacy rate in the world, and we see that the country must be doing something right. However, these aspects help humanity, not destroy it. That’s where the U.S. has a hard time with Cuba.

During the 1990s, I spoke against the Cuban embargo with as much passion as I did against the Iraqi sanctions. The difference being that the Iraqi embargo was much more deadly. However, the sanctions placed on Cuba did take a heavy toll. Today, with many countries working economically with Cuba and ignoring the U.S. plea to isolate the island, Cuba is experiencing economic growth.

The U.S. publicly criticized Cuba for its military intervention in Grenada and Angola. But, the administrations never mentioned U.S. intervention in foreign countries. In the photo above, I listed 52 countries in which the U.S. had intervened since 1960, the year that Fidel Castro became president of Cuba. The last two were Antarctica and the Moon (don’t forget that a U.S. astronaut placed the U.S. flag on the Moon).

Good is bad and bad is good. The truth seems preposterous after being inundated with lies. According to George Orwell, "In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."