News & Events - August 2006

2006-08-02 11:37:49 · 13 answers · asked by amliera 2 in Current Events

Cuba’s 47-year nightmare is about to end with the death of the last of Latin America’s old time dictators. In the long run it is hard to see how the demise of the old caudillo can be anything but good news, but the short term will be rough. The U.S. has a plan but no doubt so do regional nuisances such as Hugo Chavez.

All day I have been whistling that song from the "Wizard of Oz". You, know, "ding-dong the witch is dead". Whether Castro sups with the devil tonight or not, his reign is clearly through. An eighty-year-old guy who probably pees in his pants and cannot remember what he talked about yesterday is already knocking on hell's door. How will he come back? His brother Raul has taken power.

Raul is known as the ruthless enforcer. He is the one who killed many of the regime's opponents. He lacks his brother's charisma, but may be a little more practical. He evidently advocated such radical capitalistic steps as allowing small farmers to sell produce at farmers' markets during the hard times when the regime lost its Soviet sugar daddy. But after Hugo Chavez stepped in with subsidies to take the place of the Soviets Fidel was able to kill (sometimes literally) the farmers' markets and roll back other reforms. One possible hope is that Raul will try to go the Chinese route when big brother is out of the picture. Ironic that the best case scenario would make Cuba only just a little more oppressive than China.

Beyond the geriatric Castro brothers, there is no heir apparent. The Castro boys killed, exiled or imprisoned any bright young man or woman with ambitions so Raul is what they get.

We have to remember that Cuba is not a democracy and not even as open a system as the latter day Soviet Union. The strength of a democracy is that it produces lots of leader and independent thinkers. Fidel's did not go for this sort of idea. He executed even ideological allies if he suspected them of disloyalty and his paranoia made him suspect everyone except his brother. (Those who know say "Fidel only praises the dead," many of whom he made that way.) That means Cuba has nobody accustomed to making decisions without asking Fidel first. Anyone with power derives it from a relationship with Fidel. When he is gone, so is that connection. The Cuban communist system will collapse, soon after he shuffles off this mortal coil. We need to be ready.

Cuba is a mess. Fidel really believed the Marxist-Leninist crap he was peddling. He opposed individualism, private enterprise, investments or any of the ordinary freedoms we take for granted. Cuba was more of a closed society than most E. European communist regimes under communism. We will find Cuba more like Albania than Poland or the Czech Republic. It is a long road ahead.

In 1959, Cuba was one of the most developed countries of Latin America. Now it is among the most backward. Most of the rest of Latin America shook off its dictators in the 1980s, but the Cuban socialist showboat managed to stay afloat, even listed a bit to the left. It will not be enough to get rid of Fidel and replace Havana's 1950s vintage automobile fleet. The world will be surprised at the abysmal poverty and corruption when people are free to visit and take pictures all over the island.

The added complication will be Cuban Americans. More than 10% of the Cuban population left the country soon after Fidel se up his socialist paradise on the Pearl of the Antilles. Others followed as soon as they learned to sail small boats or float in inner tubes. Most went to Florida. They were Cuba's best and brightest. Fidel kept their property, but their skills and intelligence were their real wealth. They took their human capital with them. In the U.S., where such things are valued, they were soon successful. They and their children are still interested in their country of origin. Some want to return. Expatriate skills and money will jump start Cuban development. A similar thing happened in Poland. The difference is that Cuban-American numbers are larger in comparison to the population of Cuba. Cubans in Cuba will probably come to resent these guys. There is a real possibility of a divided society, not only divided between haves and have nots, but also between skilled and skilled not.

Think of it like your rich and smart cousin who goes away to school at some nice place, while you stay at home and endure years of hardship. Then he comes back to tell you what to do. The worst part is that he is usually right.

So after Fidel has gone where the goblins go, below, below, below, expect a messy transition, but ultimately a successful one, this time w/o Myer Lansky (who it turns out was a less successful gangster than Fidel).

2006-08-02 11:28:52 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Current Events

2006-08-02 11:27:52 · 3 answers · asked by RICK S 1 in Other - News & Events

2006-08-02 11:18:15 · 5 answers · asked by Rufino C 2 in Current Events

It's a real joke watching the american contingent asking for peace between Isreal and Lebanon when all George bush has done since he's been in office is wage war there and stir up trouble. Isreal is another american sponsored monster out of control.

2006-08-02 11:15:03 · 9 answers · asked by Yakemchuk 2 in Current Events

Second Question

2006-08-02 11:09:23 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Current Events

Man, it's been like 98-100 and somethin degrees for four days straight! It's hot as hell up here! I live in Michigan and Michigan doesn't usually get this hot, but my goodness when you walk out side or stick your head out the window you start to sweat and your clothes stick to you. Plus it's humid....it feels like a frickin sana(sp?)!

2006-08-02 11:07:29 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Other - News & Events

Answer this question because it brothering the crap out of me

2006-08-02 11:06:12 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Current Events

2006-08-02 11:01:23 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Media & Journalism

http://www.scholarsfor911truth.org/

http://www.physics.byu.edu/research/energy/htm7.html

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/december2005/051205foundbombs.htm

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4380137365762802294
William Rodriguez story, WTC Janitor, keymaster, hero and survivor.

http://www.americanscholarssymposium.org/info/video.htm

2006-08-02 11:01:10 · 4 answers · asked by sscam2001 3 in Current Events

it appears that the media is understating how bad the weather is and will be..

is it possible there is an agenda that is prevnting an honest

forecast?

2006-08-02 10:58:14 · 2 answers · asked by carolthec4 1 in Media & Journalism

It is so hot I feel like I'm melting!

2006-08-02 10:57:48 · 15 answers · asked by Doreen A 4 in Current Events

If a bunch of fanatical Americans started launching missles in to Tijuana, Mexico and Toronto, Canada....sure Canada and Mexico would be angry.....but so would the USA?

The Feds would be going after them with everything they had and not telling Canada and Mexico that it's "their problem".

Is it my imagination, or is Lebanon conveniently sitting on the fence...wanting Israel to be attacked, but not wanting to officially "go to war".

Am I missing something?

2006-08-02 10:57:26 · 6 answers · asked by Ender 6 in Current Events

2006-08-02 10:56:39 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Other - News & Events

And which one tells the most outrageous lies?

2006-08-02 10:53:48 · 13 answers · asked by der_bingle 2 in Media & Journalism

2006-08-02 10:50:34 · 4 answers · asked by chapped lips 5 in Other - News & Events

2006-08-02 10:49:22 · 6 answers · asked by X 3 in Current Events

I don't buy it . . do you think that Castro is dead like I do? I think his brother is just running the show until they can get someone else to do it (his brother is kind'of a putz)..

2006-08-02 10:34:19 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Current Events

circumstances? I know about the Kurt Cobain story, but this was a different guy. He was really smart, and had gone to Cal Tech, I think. This was about in the mid 1990's, around the time of the OJ trial. I saw an "unexplained mysteries" type show on TV about him once, but I can't remember who he was.

2006-08-02 10:34:15 · 2 answers · asked by Me-as-a-Tree 3 in Other - News & Events

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,19960056-5006301,00.html

2006-08-02 10:25:02 · 10 answers · asked by ex-Muslim 2 in Other - News & Events

Yeah, that's right. I said it

2006-08-02 10:18:54 · 4 answers · asked by Vespr 2 in Current Events

...people say things like:

"That's what Hitler used to say"
"That's what they used to say about Hitler"
"Hitler did the same thing"

It's like they don't have the intelligence to think of a decent reply so they just come up with some crap about Hitler that probably isn't true anyway.

2006-08-02 10:17:53 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Current Events

2006-08-02 10:08:40 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Other - News & Events

weather

2006-08-02 10:06:48 · 12 answers · asked by ------------------- 1 in Current Events

2006-08-02 10:03:39 · 7 answers · asked by mr.bill 3 in Current Events

Or Is TEXAS the only state to do it?

Do you think it would help you?

2006-08-02 09:47:11 · 4 answers · asked by texasgirl5454312 6 in Other - News & Events

Do you feel sad when you turn on the TV and see all these innocent men, women and children dying from the war against terrorism? I often wonder why people put important to small things like clothing, cars and hair (myself included) when they're are more serious issues going on in this pathetic world we live in today.

2006-08-02 09:41:56 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Current Events

Many are claiming there is no connection between Iraq and terrorism, but I see a different story. Even before the invasion Al Qaeda operatives were running around Iraq. In one case one was arrested by the Iraqi police and one of Saddam’s sons had him release. Do not forget Ansar Al Islam in the north.

Since the take over there has been an unprecedented number of terrorist attacks even specifically targeting civilians. On top of this Al Qaeda has chosen Iraq to be the battle ground in which to fight the United States. If Al Qaeda wasn't in Iraq it is in a big way now in which the previous Al Zarqawi primarily lead the insurgency. Maybe it is serendipitous but I think Iraq is a key position in that if Iraq falls or become truly democratic it can have a decisive impact for either side.

With this all said I'm not sure we are fighting this war intelligently was we could. I think we are still thinking in the 2 dimensional conventional sense. We need to be more creative and multi pronged in our approach.

2006-08-02 09:29:46 · 10 answers · asked by Love of Truth 5 in Current Events

No, i'm not a crazy arab, i'm a realistic man who is looking at facts and analyzing them.
the whole world, except for Israel, jews and some of the brainwashed americans, are condeming the Israeli crimes towards Lebanon. Althoguh i agree that Israel has the right to defend itself, but what it's doing now is atrocities, it has reached similar actions like the nazis. They are killing innocent women and children, all with the blessing of the US.
Bush has brought the US to a downfall with almost everything he has done, and his blind support for Israel is just our of the rational. Israel, a supposedly civilized country, has been bombing buidlings and civilian spots because there MIGHT be some hizbullah fighters in it, killing hundreds of innocent civilians.
the point of this is to ask how long the whole world will supoort the US and Israel? how long will their crimes go on until the coward world steps up and say:" Damn you US and Israel, you have gone too far, stop killing innocents"

2006-08-02 09:28:49 · 7 answers · asked by ff9_terra 2 in Current Events

2006-08-02 09:21:05 · 14 answers · asked by apm2006 3 in Current Events