Hemingway would just laugh

Sometimes one has to wonder if a house full of six-toed cats has more collective intelligence than the Bush administration. From the Guardian:

Finca Vigia, or Lookout Farm, 10 miles east of Havana, is the place Ernest Hemingway called home from 1939 to 1960, and it is there that the author's abundant tastes, in literature and in life, are on display. Visitors can see where Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea, where he dined with Errol Flynn and where Ava Gardner was reported to have skinnydipped.

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Hemingway liked trouble, and the chances are he would have enjoyed the fact that he is still creating it almost 50 years after his death. Finca Vigia has become a symbol of the struggle between the US and Cuba.

For the past two years, a group of American organisations has been working to restore the battered house and save the manuscripts and books. But US sanctions against Cuba have hindered the group's attempts to collaborate with the Cuban government. The Bush administration's response has been mixed, flitting between acquiescence and obstruction.

Congressman Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts who is one of the leading campaigners for preserving the house and lifting the sanctions, said: "It's astonishing to me that there are some people dragging their feet on this project. It's silly."

The house made the US National Trust for Historic Preservation list of 11 most endangered historic places in 2005, the first time a site outside the country has done so. The roof was sagging and there was mould on the walls. Parts of the ceiling were so close to collapse that furniture was put in storage.

Groups attempting to continue the restoration of Hemingway's house have been met with obstruction from the US government. The Bush administration has flatly refused any direct financial aid to the project in Cuba and will not allow specialized equipment to be taken in to save the site.

The Bush administration blocked direct financial aid, but issued a licence that allowed a visit to the island by US architects and construction specialists paid for by Hemingway devotees. With their help, the Cuban government went ahead with the project, and renovation of most of the house was completed in February.

But much of the rest of the estate remains in disrepair. An impressive tower next to the house is closed, Hemingway's fishing boat is shrouded in scaffolding, and red tiles are sliding off the roof of the termite-infested guesthouse. More importantly, the original manuscripts and books, which contain thousands of Hemingway's notes, are still at risk. The US government has blocked not only the money needed but specialist equipment such as dehumidifiers and scanning equipment.

The explanation for the obstruction is almost as good as a passage from Hemingway himself.

Molly Millerwise, public affairs director at the Treasury, said: "We do not issue licences that facilitate activity promoting Cuba's tourism. The sanctions against Cuba are in place to help restrict hard currency from flowing to the Castro regime, which lines its pockets with money while forcing the Cuban people to live in fear and oppression."

Millerwise needs to remember who she's working for. And, isn't there a Bush administration requirement when making public statements to invoke 9/11 into exchange at some point?

Ah, the stupidity. Thankfully, there are still six-toed cats.

Hat tip reader Cat