Shortly before the pandemic, while in London, I ran into one of those rare London days of unending rain.  Tired of fighting the crowds, I took shelter in the Ritz Hotel, specifically in their cigar lounge.  Ah, what a relief! The room was quiet, beautifully decorated, and barely occupied.  The room attracts a certain type of individual, one who does not even bother to look up to inspect whoever enters.  I noticed that they were all males, well dressed (as you would expect at The Ritz), not a sneaker, hoodie or backpack in sight, my type of place.

Picking a nice seat near a curtained window where I could just hear those unfortunates stuck in the crowds and rain, I picked up the bar menu to inspect the excellent listing of cognacs, wines, whiskeys, scotch, etc. One of the staff approached to take my order and asked if I would like to choose a cigar; of course!  We went over the beautiful walk-in humidor, and I found an goodly selection of cigars, including those make in the Dominican Republic for The Ritz under their label. Fortunately, I was prepared for the “premium” price that would be charged for any cigar and I was certainly not disappointed.  Being a thrifty Polish American for the south side of Chicago, I do like to watch my pennies, but this was a special occasion.

Going back to my seat, I found my very tasty cognac waiting for me and the staff member took great pains to light my cigar.  It was an experience, one that would only have been better had I been wearing one of my smoking jackets. 

After a while, the young man from the staff asked if he could bother me with some questions on bringing Cuban cigars into the U.S. Of course!  We discussed the issue of inspections, the removal of bands, using boxes from non-Cuban brands, and so on for about fifteen minutes, then that having run its course, we both went our separate ways.

After an hour or so, my cigar was finished, and I motioned that was ready to leave and waited for the bill.  The same young man came over, provided the bill, and gave me a blue labeled “Coco” Ritz cigar.  He mentioned how he appreciated our conversation and hoped that I would enjoy the cigar in the future.  It was a very nice touch and I realized that the series, in the Churchill size had a price tag of one-hundred pounds, or about one-hundred sixty-five dollars.  Quite a nice gift!

I had that cigar in my “A” humidor for years, tending to it, leading it mellow and saving it for a special day.  Several very nice business deals have been completed but it still did not seem like the right time.  Finally, this January 2, the day after my birthday, I decided to smoke it.  It was to be a day of quiet: reading all day, not touching the computer, enjoy the rare day of California rain while safely sheltered in the library.

How was the cigar?  I am not a reviewer who will claim to taste a blend of cinnamon and birch bark in each draw, or marvel at hint of molasses that is in the first draw.  But it had an excellent white ash that was firm and had an even draw. It burned smoothly, not too quickly and did not require an extra light.  It was on the mild side and did provide with excellent plums of smoke that hung lazily until they drifted to the open window.  I must admit that I have enjoyed other cigars more both in terms of flavor and gauge, but it was fun to remember back to that enjoyable afternoon at The Ritz and know that I sampled their prize product and did not have to pay for the pleasure.

There seems to be some sort of rule that any government program, no matter how well intentioned or structured, ends up in creating more problems.  They seem to create winners and losers and if you are the latter and cannot take a joke then it is just your hard luck to get the short end of the stick.  Perhaps this happens because in an unaccountable bureaucratic state (or swamp if you prefer), there is a natural tendency to “make things better”, or “correct an historical wrong”.  After all, it is hard to image that any bureaucrat would ever say, “The program was a success, and we can all go home now”.  Instead, there is a constant need to show that the government can do more to make someone’s life better while at the same time, keeping oneself employed.

While the original intent of Title IX was fine, it immediately created losers; males who participated in certain sports which were deemed unnecessary or perhaps, did not create enough mass interest or even, hard to believe, generate enough income to the schools were cast aside in favor of female athletics.  Scholarships were lost by some to be shifted to those who were more deserving.  As time went on however, even simple sports programs became “politicized” as “Dear Colleague” letters were introduced during the Obama Administration.  Ah, a bureaucrat’s work is never done. The result of a “Dear Colleague” letter led to a cancellation of basic rights found within our Constitution.  Under Title IX and other Titles, the right to face an accuser, examine evidence, etc. were eliminated.  The result was numerous lawsuits and victories for those denied their rights although such victories came years after the ruination of one’s reputation, loss of scholarships, etc.

The problems continue to morph as now Title IX is used against those who were originally marked as the winners (biological women) in favor of males who for whatever reason, now decide they have found themselves to be non-biological women.  The result is that biological women are losing the very scholarships that were awarded to them thanks to Title IX. 

The link to the article below provides an overview and discussion of one possible answer: the repeal of Title IX.  I would enjoy seeing a rebuttal to the article.

https://www.firstthings.com/article/2023/01/repeal-title-ix

New York city has decided to go green with its buses; they will be purchasing 500 electric buses for a cost of $1.1 billion.  This is the first of a total of 5,800 electric buses (total cost of nearly $12 billion?).  The only problem is that the current 15 (fifteen) electric busses cost two to three times as much to operate as the diesel or natural gas buses in service.  In order to complete the deal, the NY MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) is asking for a discount on its electrical cost.  Naturally, the energy department is balking at the request.

There are solutions such as put forth by California where commercial EV chargers were given a 100% discount on demand chargers for five years.  Presto!  EV are a cost savings to the public as it costs less to run them. (NY Post 12/26/2022, pp 2)

Another trick and this is was started during the Obama era; the bus drivers who drove diesel or natural gas buses and who were switched to EVs were consider “new green jobs”.  Same person, different vehicle, new title.  Government speak at its finest.

If you are a cigar smoker and do a bit of travel, finding a good cigar lounge can be a daunting task. Yes, there are shops that sell cigars, and a few may have a comfortable chair or two, but there always seems to be something missing.  So, we continue to hunt for that gem of a cigar lounge that seems to bring it all together.

One such gem is Cubana Creations Cigar Bar at 533 Toulouse St. in the French Quarter of New Orleans.  A nice selection of well cared for cigars is available and the bar features an excellent selection of liquid pleasures, including some that can be difficult to find.  Aside from the bar, there are two rooms with comfortable seating in a setting that allows one to enjoy a smoke, your drink of choice and have a pleasant conversation without having to shout as is so often the case in many bars in New Orleans.

Matthew manning the shop that day, has travelled the world and provided each new customer a nice overview of the club and its offerings.  After inquiring about my favorite cigars, he suggested a Bandolero Vanidosos 50, which was a new cigar for me.  I teamed it with A Remy Martin Tercet cognac, and it was a happy choice.  The Bandolero was mid-range in strength and the Remy very smooth, a great team.

CC is the only indoor cigar lounge in the French Quarter so there was a slow but steady influx of clients, all happy to be able to enjoy their pleasures in a location that was far enough away from the sometimes craziness on the street to be a nice place of shelter. 

I recommend Cuban Creations not because it is the only shop of its kind, but because it offers a good selection of cigars and liquors in a calm, well-tended manner.  A step above a neighbor shop, it offers good value with a personal touch.

Several years ago, I read Luigi Albertini’s massive, three volume, 1800-page work, The Origins of the War of 1914. It was a heartbreaking work as it laid out a chain of events beginning about thirty years prior to the outbreak of the war which seen from today, clearly pointed to the start of that terrible war.  Misunderstood actions, political snubs and fumbles, conflicting personalities, etc., seem to drive the Western powers toward a cliff from which none could turn.

In a sense, this book gives one the same feeling, only you reach the conclusion by about page 80; you want to put the book down and wonder how so many poor decisions could be made by so many policy makers and leaders. Anybody with even a rudimentary knowledge of asymmetrical warfare, can see the fundamental errors which turned a solid opportunity into a fiasco.

What is amazing is that many of the military leaders who had fought in Viet Nam and who had vowed never to make a mistake like that again, went along with political leaders and committed basic errors during and after the initial invasion; inadequate troop strength, ignorance of the culture, disruption of the economy which led to many military Iraqis joining the insurgents simply to put bread on the table, poor training of the infantry, disregard of the lessons of local control learned in Viet Nam, etc. managed to alienate the populace and actually feed the insurgency.

Ricks blames most of the problems on Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and L. Paul Bremer III as they ignored advice which did not agree with their preconceived ideas and amazingly enough, they had no plan for what to do with Iraq after the military victory.  There seemed to be some sort of mystical belief that our occupation would be short lived and that some sort of civilian leadership would arise that could span the Sunni-Shite-Kurdish canyon and run a government which had been an authoritarian state under a suddenly outlawed political party. Bremer managed to put out of work the entire Iraqi army, the key bureaucrats and destroy any hope for central power to run the country.  For this, he eventually was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, along with George Tenet and General Tommy Franks, both of whom managed in their own way (intelligence and military) to mislead or misdirect the war and occupation. Professionally written and documented, the weakness of this book is that it ends in 2006 and the author, entirely misses the options from that point forward.  He could not see the rise of ISIS of course, but his discussion on the political options read as if he were in a hurry to finish the book.  This should be a must read at West Point and for at least the top ten percent of the “leaders” in Congress and the bureaucracy.  Just be prepared to put the book down every few pages and shake you head in wonder at the foolishness, stupidity, and ineptitude of those who wield such power.

It is unfortunate that over the past several years we have seen a politicization of the Department of Justice.  Going back to the Obama administration and the notorious Lois Lerner episode, through the falsification of documents by the FBI in presentations to the FISA courts regarding the Steele documents, the manipulations of James Comey, into our current day with the raids on Project Veritas, the mobilization against parents who speak out at school board meetings, and more, the integrity of the DOJ is seriously in question.

These actions call into question the security of our foundations of freedom.  As pointed out in the article linked below, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “the most sacred of the duties of a government (is) to do equal and impartial justice to all its citizens”.  We can be thankful that the head of the DOJ, Merrick Garland did not achieve a seat on the Supreme Court for his actions in his current position have shown him to be willing to bend to political winds.  Let us hope that future damage can be avoided and that a future administration will work to bring back integrity to the department.

https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Imprimis_Aug_9-22_8pgweb.pdf

Imagine that your native land is invaded not once, but several times by opponents who are much more powerful and ruthless.  In the first invasion, tens of thousands of your nations finest minds are deported to camps thousands of miles away.  The next invasion is by another opponent who to win your favor, executes tens of thousands of your fellow citizens who made the mistake of being born into a different religion.  To complete the job of cleansing your land, many of your neighbors to worked with the first invader are also executed.  A couple of years later, the first invader returns and again, executes or deports your fellow citizens who co-operated with the second invader.  Fast forward two generations and the first invader is finally expelled but during that time, everyone who has lived under the expelled regime has lived, worked or in some manner supported the hated invader.

Whom do you trust?  Who was a spy or informer for the invader?  Who was married to someone who profited from working with the invader?  Will the invader return?  Is the new system honest or will it be staffed by those who worked for the invader?

Sofi Oksanen, a Finnish- Estonian playwright and novelist is now published in twenty-nine countries and has written a novel that looks at those questions and others.  An elderly woman is taunted by young boys who throw rocks at her house on her old dying farm.  Why?  Did she collaborate with the hated invaders?  Was she an informer?  What is her secret?  Then, a young woman in fancy city clothes appears in her yard and for the rest of the book, each mentally dances with the other, prying and gradually learning the truth that binds the two.

The story will make the reader question how does a nation which, like the nations in Europe formerly occupied by the Soviet Union, begin the healing process and acceptance of the challenges generated by the past.  Who, having lived for decades under a repressive police state is free from guilt and is there an acceptable line beyond one should not have crossed?  At the same time, there is a valid call for Justice and who will be the ones to carry out such measures as are set? These questions and others are not often discussed by those who have studied totalitarian states or even whose which have not gone to that extreme.  The amazing thing is that it appears that overall, those nations which have suffered have found a way to deal with the past and have arrived at a way of moving forward without using the fearsome methods that were used on them.     

The Magadan area of Siberia is known for its harsh climate, where the weather is sub-zero for up to six months a year.  Now picture that you are in that climate, working in a lead or gold mine (which tend to kill its workers in about six months) in a thin cotton jacket and wooden clogs.  You want to get a better job, but you have nothing to trade to the criminals who run the camp with the approval of the military guards.  Your diet consists of a cup of hot water for breakfast, perhaps a slice of bread for lunch and if you make it back to the barracks in time, a cup of hot water with perhaps a fish head or a bit of turnip.  Then after lights out, you wait for the criminals to rob you of your blanket or gang rape your bunk mate.  If you do manage to get out of the mines, you get a better job such as cutting trees for 12 hours a day.  You do not know what has happened to your family (as you are held without the right of correspondence) and you realize that that routine will go on for the length of your sentence, which is probably fifteen to twenty years.

When you do come out of the camp, you may not receive a permit to return to the town where your family lived and there are few ways to contact them.  In fact, everyone who encounters you shuns you as being seen with a former “political” may be reason enough for them to be arrested.  There is a good chance that your children were put in State orphanages and had their names changed so there is little possibility of ever finding them.  In fact, you have only a small chance of ever leading a “normal” life.

This then was the story of this early work by one of the premier historians on the Soviet Union.  Conquest lays out a story of brutality that is an important part of the Gulag system of the Soviet Union.  And, as terrible as the above description is of life in the camps, it was worse for the women who were sentenced to the Gulag.  From mass rape on the transportation to the camps, to forced lesbian relationships in order to gain a bit more to eat, women were the lowest of the low in the system.

It is often said that the camps were not the fault of the ideology, but rather the fault of the leaders.  But what type of system would allow the leaders to develop a system staffed by hundreds of thousands of brutal individuals who could live and work in a system like the Gulags.  What type of system would allow to be created a system of laws and regulations where people are arrested and convicted based on nothing more than a quota for arrests and, in some cases, being picked out at random from a telephone book.

Each time I read something on the Gulag system, I thank my lucky stars for the life I lead, in the country where I live which is a true anomaly in the history of mankind.   There but for the grace of God, or the decision of my grandparents could have gone I.

“Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”

― Winston S. Churchill, The Gathering Storm

If Churchill could say that about Russia, what would he say about China today? The link to the article below takes us on a journey into totalitarianism in its most perfected form. Using the tried-and-true methods of population control (secret police, informers, intimidation, etc.) and the worse applications of modern-day technology (millions of cameras, tracking of mandatory cell phones, etc.), China has become a state ruled by the whim and power of one man.

The article provides a glimpse into the tensions of being a subject of the Chinese Communist Party; it rules without a popular mandate and has imposed a regime of spying and intimidation on Chinese citizens around the world. How long can such a regime maintain its power? Who is there to stand up to the power of such a State? Finally, we must remember that the man at the very top of the totalitarian regime, China’s Xi has learned from the failures of the old Soviet Union and the Soviet bloc in terms of survival. Xi sees himself as a modern-day Mao, a man who instituted policies which lead to the deaths of millions of his own subjects. He realizes that there is no retreat from his pinnacle of power and if challenged there is little doubt that he would take actions which would make the ten-thousand dead of Tiananmen Square pale in comparison.

Being a subject of the CCP means always being vigilant.

https://quillette.com/2022/11/27/the-loneliness-of-the-bridge-man-generation/

The British and German empires had the wonderful ability to turn futility and defeat into a glorious adventure. For the Germans, and outstanding example was the legend of the Langemarck when youthful German infantry rushed against the French lines, singing their national anthem, and capturing thousands of French regulars. The reality was quite different in that while a thousand French reservists were captured, the young Germans suffered about ten thousand killed and wounded in an unimportant battle. Years later, the myth would be used by the Nazi regime to fire the imagination of those in the Hitler Youth.

The British, because of their far-flung empire had more glorious defeats which they could use to inspire British boys. It must have worked as generations of youth ventured forth to pacify, tame and Christianize the colonies of the Empire. One of those defeats was the Artic expedition of Captain Sir John Franklin in 1845-48. He had at his disposal two specially designed ships with food and fuel enough for three years and a desire to find the fabled Northwest Passage. He failed and all the men of his ships died of scurvy, TB, various other illnesses and eventually resorted to cannibalism in a vain attempt to reach rescue.