AP's Choir Service? More Praise for Cuba's Hurricane Response

Taxpayer-funded National Public Radio isn't the only media outlet to praise communist Cuba's excellently dictatorial response to Hurricane Ike sweeping over the island. In his Friday Best of the Web Today report, James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal also found Castro cheerleaders at AP:

The Associated Press's Anita Snow, reporting from Havana on the response to Hurricane Ike, finds the bright side of totalitarianism:

If there's one thing the communist island does right, it's evacuations. And in the end, that saves more lives than anything else. . . .

Of course, this is easier done in Cuba than in the United States because the communist government owns and controls most of the nation's resources. Unlike the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, it doesn't have to buy supplies or contract services from private companies, or pay overtime.

Most Cubans work for the government and don't have to worry about losing wages if they take off from work. And because police keep a close eye on evacuated areas--and because most Cubans have few possessions of value anyway--looting isn't a major concern.

That was the problem in Katrina--the people in New Orleans were too rich! Then there's this:

If anyone has doubts, authorities quickly put an end to them.

Do American journalists really yearn to live in a country in which "authorities" excel at quickly putting an end to doubt?

The other fascinating part of Snow's article is the end, where she displays no objection as the Castroites practice a rather un-compassionate communism:

Part of the reason people are so obedient is that the government has a good track record of predicting what storms will be dangerous.

"By predicting hurricanes accurately almost all of the time, (Cuban) meteorologists have engendered the public's trust," said Jane Griffiths of Center for International Policy, a Washington think tank. "That's why people voluntarily respond to evacuation orders."

And if anyone has doubts, authorities quickly put an end to them. The state news media often makes examples of people who fail to move out — and who are killed or injured.

On Wednesday, an elderly man was trapped under the rubble of his evacuated Havana apartment building when he returned home before the building was inspected for safety. Coroner officials confirmed that he died.

"Unfortunately, there was irresponsibility in this case," said Lt. Col. Rolando Menendez, a firefighter overseeing rescue efforts. "But in general, the population is following civil defense measures well."