What did I miss? (away from Western World for 2 weeks)

[Domitan]

I just got back from my wedding in Cuba where I stayed for 2 weeks. What an utter contrast it is between Cuba and the US (and Canada as well). Quite an eye-opening and very enjoyable experience overall!

We stayed in a modern and highly ranked resort which had all the comforts, but we took the time to get a taste of the life of ordinary Cubans. We felt a wide range of emotions as we witnessed this. Overall, we were struck by the feirce pride and determination of the folks in Cuba in spite of the many hardships they face.

Anyway, I actively avoided the news (except for sports) even though our resort had CNN(!!!!). I merely skipped over CNN if I was watching TV in the late night.

So what did I miss over the past 2 weeks? Any significant political or current issues? What are Bush's approval/disapproval ratings now? Any promising news for the days ahead? Any legit gloom to anticipate? Are folks here healthy?

BTW, I know many here would appreciate the anti-Bush propaganda found in many Havana markets and billboards ;)

Example#1: Billboard on Havana highway: face of Bush + face of Hitler = face of Batista

Example#2: Mike Ruppert's Bush 9-11 dollar sign (with Bush wearing Hitler moustache) circulating in street markets

Example#3: books on sale about America's role in bioterrorism and subversion in other nations

and many more...

Another point of interest: Che is the most marketed figure in Cuba with all those T-shirts of him (no surprise!)...but very very little billing of Castro (very few posters of him and no busts of him that I've seen). The figure whose head bust people see all over Cuba is that of Jose Marti, the national hero. He led the Independence Wars in the 1800's against Spain and USA. Interestingly, he is most beloved by the native Cubans as well as the anti-Castro Miami Cubans. Many billboards depicit the 5 Cubans who have been jailed in USA, demanding their release and decrying the injustice there.

Again, folks, pls share with me what I've missed in the USA and other countries over the past 2 weeks. Many thanks!

[izzie]

1. First of all, nothing works any more.

--

[Domitan]

2. Your pessimism is loud and clear

but a lil elaboration goes a long way.

Even though I flashed over CNN, I couldn't help but notice constant references to the "Immigration Wars" and the 9-11 stories. Were they just mere rehashings of old issues or were there new developments related to those issues?

[izzie]

12. I frankly like our gov. but having people who think this------

Gov. is bad makes them run it badly. I think you need people who can run things and not people who just think that every thing brings in a profit is good, is right, for a service type business which is what gov. is. That does not sound very clear but in a society like ours we need people who know how to run a service type org. Gov. is not a for profit business even if Bush thinks it is. So we end up with people who should be running a profit making business trying to do with gov. the same thing. They do it badly and nothing works right. CORP are run from the top down and gov. like ours must be run from the bottom up. It is a different out look on things.

[Minnesota Libra]

3. You didn't miss much, Bush still thinks he's god, Cheney still runs.......

.....everything, and every other phrase out of this administration is "war on terror".

[Domitan]

6. Even from a few seconds worth of glances, I gathered that

from what was headlined on CNN. Go figure!

[im10ashus]

4. You made it back JUST in time.

The DU fund drive is in its last day and needs a little help.

:D

Other than that. Same old crap - different day. Bushista is laughing at his dismal approval ratings. Many more innocent people were killed in Iraq. Gas prices are still at all time highs. The pretzeldent just signed into law the huge tax breaks he gave to all his rich white friends. Oh! And English is officially the language of the American people. The shrub is due for his first Berlitz class Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.

[Domitan]

7. Was Bush making speeches on a daily basis?

Even as I quickly skimmed past CNN while channelsurfing, I could not avoid seeing Bush sitting behind his desk to make some sort of inane speech. Suffice to say, I did not bother to watch for more than a split second.

[im10ashus]

9. He made a - well, we'll call it a speech - Monday night.

It had to do with immigration. Or so I hear. :D

We are going to build a BIG ass wall along the border now. Probably will be built by our good friends at Halliburton.

[Karmakaze]

5. Lucky you!

You missed one of the worst blow ups in DU history :)

TruthOut published an article by Jason Leopold saying that Karl Rove had been indicted as part of the Plame investigation - some here doubted, while others believed whole heartedly - major flame wars eventually turning into a series of official threads (over 20). The article said that some time last week the announcment was expected to be made.

So far nothing, and many people now assume the article was false for some reason, while others still believe it is true in essence but that timings are off.

I won;t go inot any more detail than that, because Im sure you will find out eventually :)

[Domitan]

8. Man! I can imagine how volatile that can be

However, that's unfortunate about Jason. Even Buzzflash has a somber note about this.

BTW, has Will Pitts returned yet?

[WiseButAngrySara]

10. Welcome back! Your wedding/honeymoon in Cuba sounds

wonderful! And thanks for the insights/reminders of how we are increasingly hated in the world...depressing, that!

Concerning this Leopold flame-war (?I think that's the right term); what are your impressions of it? What did Buzzflash have to say about it? All threads on the subject are locked, with the exception of 2, and they are way too large for my taste and computer capacity. Will Pitt emphatically supported the Leopold post, insulted all doubters, and hasn't been heard from in many days. One week ago yesterday is when the Leopold article first came out, and many of us were so ecstatic by the news, that we stayed up posting late Sat. and even Sun. Great diappointment was to be found in most DUers when not an iota was reported in M$M, and doubts and criticism of the article, and Leopold's past 'journalistic' history were revealed. (He had outed sources and plagierized ?? in the past, so TruthOut's and Pitt's defense of him and the article left many DUers increasingly bewildered and angry.) TruthOut was unlisted by Google News, and many fear that this 'mistake' will brand future progressive news bloggers.

[Domitan]

13. Thanks! (more info on Buzzflash and Cuban views on USA)

I've missed the recent Leopold flame wars, but my thoughts: It's very unfortunate that Leopold's speculations did not come to pass, and this only sullies his reputation as well as the sites and online journalists who have fervently backed him up. However, the right wing has been bad for track records of having many misses as well as hits (see Drudge), but they're sadly more adept at shrugging them off and just moving on. I admire many of our insistence on integrity and honesty...so I hope that Leopold, Pitts, et al can just admit the eggs on their faces and errors here...people (esp on the left) can be forgiving of that.

Buzzflash has this headline:
Jason Leopold and Truthout.com Put Their Reputation on the Line Promising a Rove Indictment Early This Week and No Later Than Friday. It's Friday. Rove May Still be Indicted in the Near Future, But the Leopold/Truthout Report as to Timing and Details Raises Many Questions About the Reporter and the Report That Shook Up the Net. 5/20



As for Cuban perspective on the USA, I hung out with a few locals for a couple of days. That was the real Cuban experience, not our fun at the resorts. They admitted having mixed feelings about Castro...appreciative of free education and medicare, but very very very frustrated by the economic limits on them (e.g., one piece of bread per day per person, very few dollars per month, difficult transportation system, et al). One admitted liking the States for their economics, BUT also shared deep misapprehension about the violence in the USA culture. Cuba has a very low rate of violent crime.

[ashling]

11. nothing happened

we've all just been waiting for you to get back.

[Connie_Corleone]

14. Jesus came back.

But he couldn't find anyone worthy enough to rapture so he left again.

[titoresque]

15. Congratulations!

and we're going to hell in a hand basket. Welcome back. :)

[sweetheart]

16. What world is not western

that has CNN in its resort hotel rooms. We are decieved by
using that word "western world", by what "news" is, and by the
a priori presumption that we are not decieved.

[deaniac21]

17. Castro made Forbes list of top ten richest rulers.

Net worth 900 million.