Anthony Bourdain, the self indulging 'Liberace' of the Travel Channel, sucks up to Castro. He thinks Cuba is beautiful because it was kept simple and unchanged by a grand scheme from its central planning designed by its great communist dictator. He wanders around greeting friendly locals in his moussed hair and designer jeans. This is while the people around him have to plan their everyday around how to do their long hours of meager work, then fit in a specific time to get in line for their rationed food staples. Bourdain is the constant wanderer in designer casual, pierced earring and moussed hair on all his travels from villages in South America to Southeast Asia, it's his shtick. He can do this with greater ease than most of us since he's on the Travel Channel's dime. Yet he shows up on CNN looking like a skid row hangover. In Havana, Bourdain visits one of the food counters in the tourist controlled sector where the electricity is on most of the time. He buys Cuban fast food, smacks his lips and talks with his mouth full, hopefully, to show us he is just one of the proletariat. He notes how 'rubbers' are also sold and gives us his popular culture insight on how the locals will use them at night. This is just one of his amazing cultural and sociological observations he sermonizes to his viewers. This self absorbed narcissist is just another uncouth celebrity (or almost celebrity) oaf who believes he's supporting the worker's of the world. The post Soviet designer Wobbly. He tells us to go visit the wonders of Cuba. It is frozen in time. It's also frozen by government totalitarianism, central planning, murdered initiative, enforced restricted travel and enforced poverty.
What's next for Bourdain's show, "No Reservations", the feasts of North Korea?
Watch out Tea Partiers. Here is mister urbanity incarnate, the world's food and travel arbiter, who is given time on CNN to complain about protesting Americans, most of whom don't flap their lips while they eat. ♘
[read Humberto Fontova's July 18, 2011 article]
The Travel Channel’s Useful Idiot | FrontPage Magazine
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