Wednesday, April 16, 2003 :::
 
Baby dictators get theirs...Yay, science!...Iraqi art...out-of-control weddings...something new from JPII...final thoughts

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It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Some of you may remember "Baby Doc" Duvalier, the bloated, brutal dictator of Haiti for fifteen years. When he inherited the title "President for Life" from his father, even more brutal "Papa Doc," many, including yours truly, figured Baby Doc would be out of there pretty fast. He was only 19, and so enormous he looked like he was not fit for action. But he lasted longer than his father. Following a coup in 1986, France was more or less forced to accept him, although they have kept a close eye on him and have cooperated with Haitian officials trying to get their money back. The Journal reports this morning that he is now broke. He and his wife spent much of what they had stolen, upwards of $500 million, and police think she ran off with the rest. Ok, one great big collective "awwwwww."

Unfortunately, this reminder of Baby Doc's tenacity in holding on to power should caution us against hoping that "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-Il in North Korea is going anywhere soon. Everyone thought he, too, was too weak, but it seems he has consolidated power, even as his people starve.

Wasn't this supposed to usher in a heavenly kingdom? Speaking of Haiti, remember 10 years ago, when "activists" maintained that deposed president Jean-Baptiste Aristide must be restored at all costs, otherwise it was proof that the US did not support human rights. Even then, there were many who said that he was a thug, but he had been properly elected and he had been illegally deposed, so Bill Clinton sent in the troops and put him back. Clinton went down for a love-in there with Aristide, and he was attacked by the entire intellectual class in that poor country. Aristide, it turns out, is little better than an elected Duvalier. Any chance for a free and open election to replace him is pretty much out of the question. Any apologies from the "human rights" community should be forwarded to A Mind That Suits.

Why modernism has its good side. The Journal also has a lengthy report on how the SARS virus was identified within months through cooperation among scientists on three continents. The length of time is down from several years to identify and combat AIDS, and several millenia for humans to figure out how diseases worked. Go us.

Iraqi artifacts. One art historian had a perfectly reasonable suggestion for restoring the two museums that were ransacked. The motive now appears to have been money, since Sadam's National Socialist economic system had deprived nearly everyone of any significant kind of possession, even as, we now know, he lived in considerable decadent luxury. (This was not surprising, but some people demand a certain high level of proof.) The historian's solution: buy it all back.

It turns out that the market for ancient art from South Asia has shot up in the last few years, as it suddenly dawned on museums that material from the cradle of civilization might fill in some gaps in their collections. And for some reason, after the First Gulf War, the market became flooded with Sumerian and other art from the area. People said their family had had the stuff for years, but, one British curator told the Journal, those "things we assume are from Iraq." Do you remember any public outcry?

Speaking of public outcry. Check out www.opinionjournal.com 's lead editorial today on why some people can't be happy that the war went the way it did. It was no doubt written by the Journal's estimable William McGurn, their lead editorial writer.

A final gift from a great man. In case you haven't heard, tomorrow Pope John Paul II will release his latest, and, most likely last, encyclical tomorrow. Most of his have been addressed to "all people of good will," but this one will be pretty specifically Catholic. It is entitled The Church of the Eucharist. It will be available on the Vatican website as of early tomorrow morning. www.vatican.va A Mind That Suits is printing it off on his way to the airport to read over the weekend.

Also, the Pope several weeks ago released a new poem called A Roman Triptych, which contain reflections on the creation and redemption of the world, and also on his whole pontificate. The connection is that the Pope is elected in the Sistine Chapel, and the Creation and the Last Judgment have become JPII's favorite works of art. I have read some in Italian (it was written in Polish), but it was just announced that the US Bishops will bring out the English text in June. He writes difficult poetry, I am told, but the parts I read were fascinating.

Speaking of running to the airport. A Mind That Suits is going away for the weekend. There will be no daily blog until next Tuesday. However, tomorrow marks the premier of The Fullness of Him. amindthatsuits.blogspot.com/fullness/

(Links still are not working, so you will have to type it in.) It will be a blog on Christian spirituality through the Liturgy, and other related issues. Tomorrow begins with a reflection on the career of the very same Pope. After Easter, there will be a reflection on Easter and then the blog will move on to its regular if somewhat haphazard progress.

amindthatsuits@yahoo.com

Have a great weekend, and, for those of you who will be observing it, a blessed and joyous Easter.


::: posted by A Mind That Suits at 1:09 PM


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