I haven't been posting much lately - obviously - as I have been much busier, and for the time being I have lost a bit of the urge. I know this won't be permanent. In fact, one my main goals in the next few months is to put together a comprehensive website/blog on Cuba and its future. Speaking of Cuba.
... He [Cuban Minister of Informatics and Communications Ramiro Valdes] added that Cuba has taken great efforts in bringing the rational and efficient use of information and communications technologies to the people. Cuba is increasing and modernizing its equipment, giving priority to those sectors of higher social impact like healthcare, educational, cultural and scientific centers.
Minister Ramiro Valdes Menendez noted that the most difficult challenge Cuba faces is because of the US blockade that forces Cuba to access the Internet via satellite instead of by underwater fiber optic cables...
Good god, they lie like a Bush. (nice sound to that, no?)
I suppose these great efforts are why when I last lived there the house I stayed at was one of the very few that had internet access - no one knew about it, the guy wouldn't let me or anyone else use it and he only went online between midnight and eight AM so the authorities wouldn't find out. You see it wasn't authorized by the state.
The idea that the average Cuban has had real access to the internet is a joke. Certainly in the Cuban governmental propaganda that sounds so wonderful, information and education are keys to social advancement They are, of course, the problem being that the government goes to great lengths to deny information to the citizenry.For the Cuban government to blame anyone but themselves for denying access to the outside world via the internet is roughly on par in terms of disingenuousness and fantasy with the Repugs blaming anti-war activists for the chaos in Iraq.
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Meanwhile, as Bush sends more troops to die and kill in killing fields of Iraq and prepares to go to war with Iran (new motto: real nutcases go to Tehran) while the vice president is being clearly exposed as the vindictive, irresponsible SOB he so obviously is in the Scooter Libby trial, it seems the nation is captivated. The only problem, of course, judging from the coverage on the "news" channels, the captivation is regarding the death of Anna Nicole Smith. I see it on TV, the newspaper, the lead story on CNN radio, it's everywhere.
I ask the following not in the least bit rhetorically.
What the fuck is wrong with these people?
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And one belated comment on the Super Bowl. While I hate to mix politics and sports as it I watch sports as way to momentarily escape reality and enjoy "the game." And while I do think Tony Dungy is a probably a very personable and nice guy, I have to note one thing. The idea that somehow he is proving "good guys" can win the Super Bowl because he doesn't scream and yell really reduces "good guy" to its most superficial meaning. Before the media fell all over itself proclaiming what a great guy Dungy is perhaps they should have noted what he did after the game. That's right, he did "I'm going to Disneyworld" commercial (it's alright because they all do it, right). Maybe the media could have pointed out the shameless and dangerous propaganda Disney supported in its it Clinton hit piece on ABC, "“The Path to 9/11.” Or much worse, they could have discussed how the company went after a small time blogger for exposing the vile, racist, disgusting claptrap emanating from the Disney affiliate, radio station KSFO.
Here is part of the letter courageous blogger Spocko sent out last year to AT&T, one of the advertisers on the station:
To: Wendy Clark, VP-advertising, AT&T
Dear Ms. Clark:
Thanks to radio hosts from KSFO your brand is being associated with torturing and killing people. Would your marketing people be happy to hear your commercial ran after Lee Rogers said this about a black man in Lincoln, Nebraska?
"Now you start with the Sear's Diehard the battery cables connected to his testi*les and you entertain him with that for awhile and then you blow his bleeping head off. " (Audio link)
You should know the person calling for the execution and torture of the black man in that clip READS THE AT&T commercials on the air. Right now on KSFO Lee Rogers is THE VOICE of AT&T to the SF Bay area. (Audio Link)
Sadly, calling for the death and torture of individuals and groups of people is a regular occurrence on KSFO 560 AM, owned by ABC Radio Disney.
Another example: immediately after the 6 am ABC Radio news on October 27th:
Lee Rogers: I say they catch the person, tie 'em to a post and burn 'em. Set 'em on fire.
Officer Vic: Yeah.
Lee Rogers: Let 'em know what it feels like.
Melanie Morgan: Hog tie 'em first. That would be good.
Next, Lee Rogers talks about a protester at a Cindy Sheehan event:
"Whoever did that should have been stomped to death right there. Just stomp their bleeping guts out." (Audio link).
Within three minutes they called for someone to be burned alive and a protester to be stomped to death. If you dismissed the first clip as a "joke", note that in this clip they were clearly not joking:
Melanie Morgan famously called for Bill Keller of the New York Times (and nine editors from other papers) to be hanged. (Audio link)
On Nov. 14th Melanie Morgan said this about Nancy Pelosi:
"We've got a bulls-eye painted on her big laughing eyes."
(Audio link)
Also note that Morgan reads the Cingular Wireless commercials on KSFO.
Of course political speech is protected, but I believe the FBI and the FCC frown on targeting elected officials for death or inciting violence toward leaders of any political party.
Because of how ads are purchased, your ad placement agency probably didn't know that Tom Brenner (the "comic relief" called Officer Vic) regularly mocks advertiser's products. Listen as he:
* calls Chevrolet's product "shi**y"
* (audio link) suggests an anti-virus product is part of a protection racket (audio link)
* pretends a cold pill is really a suppository (audio link)
The odds are your product will be mocked. If they don't respect a big client like Chevrolet, will they respect your brand?
And it's not simply calls for killing specific people or mocking products, the radio hosts at KSFO proudly talk about their anti-Muslim views. Based on my research, your business has rules about discrimination against people of other religions, so what message are you sending when your employees or customers hear your advertisements right after Brian Sussman demands of a caller:
"Say Allah is a Wh*re!" (audio link)
Or when Lee Rogers says,
"Indonesia is really just another enemy Muslim nation. ... You keep screwing around with stuff like this we are going to kill a bunch of you. Millions of you. ...
ABC managed to shut down Spocko's blog by pressuring his internet service provider, 1&1 Internet, to remove the site by claiming the blogger by citing some of the content aired on the radio station, violated Disney's copyright protection (Seems to me like nonsense as his work certainly does appear to fall under fair use. Of course we all don't have a litany of unethical, overpaid lawyers at our disposal to fight the unfair charges).
So, great Tony, I hope you enjoyed your trip to Disneyworld. However, I wish the media would spare us the 'good guy winning the Super Bowl" hype. I believe being a good guy has far less to do with not raising your voice and thanking God for a victory in a football game (the silliest of traditions in sports) than acting socially responsible. And pimping for organizations that go out of their way to shut down a small time critic who attempts to stand up to obvious fascists and scumbags is no way to act socially responsible.
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