What the hell is going on over there?

[Topaz]

We're waiting for Castro to die. After he does, we'll probably assimilate Cuba into the US or some shat. We have their people, their goods, and their money in the US already, it'd be a waste not to.

[Arta]

That other guy seemed much better than Kerry to me. The guy who dropped out kinda early.

To be quite honest: I don't know how I'd vote, if I were American. It seems to me that your recent presidential candidates have all been quite useless.

[MyndFyre]

Just what it sounds like from that article.  Rather than immediatly trying to save the cities in the wake of one of the largest natural disasters to hit our country, our president and our secretary of state decided to stay on vacation and do important thnigs such as buy $7000 shoes.  Meanwhile tons of people were (and still are!) trapped and dying, and two states are in a state of emergency.  Martial law was declared and now there are sporadic firefights as looters try to get national guard and random civilian helpers out of their way.  It's not pretty at all.

Yeah.... uh, that's the governor's responsibility, not Bush's.

By the way -- either produce the receipt for the $7,000 shoes, or take your ad hominem attacks elsewhere.  You are welcome to post as long as you stick to the relevant facts.  There are two keywords there: relevant and facts.

Not only did they evacuate over 1.1 million people, they evacuated their TVs, refrigerators, and pets, to ensure that the people would actually leave.  Now if you want to argue that Cuba is full of millions of rich people and isn't a huge poverty area, that's your... opinion.  But the fact remains that if Cuba can have no deaths in a worse hurricane, why the hell can't we?

Allow me to remind you that New Orleans is below sea level:

Much of the city is actually located between 1 and 10 feet (0.3 to 3 m) below sea level, and as such, is very prone to flooding. Rainwater is continually pumped out of the city and into Lake Pontchartrain across a series of levees and dikes. However, if it rains more than 1 inch, or if there is a major storm surge, such that caused by a hurricane greater flooding can occur.

(source)

On a relevant note, Cuba has offered to send 1,100 doctors (60% or so of who specialize in infectious diseases, which is the problem right now) to help us in the wake of the disaster.  Cuba is known throughout the world for sending doctors instead of military troops to help countries in need after a major incident.  Thanks to all the political bickering, these 1,100 good doctors won't be able to help any Americans.

Yes, I would prefer that the Cuban doctors didn't help Americans catch any infectious diseases. 

I don't even really understand why we still refuse to have relations with Cuba.  We have relations with China... Korea... Vietnam, where we had around 57,000 soldiers killed.  So many things seem so illogical lately.

There are two Koreas.  Last I checked, we're only friendly with one of them -- the democratic one.  Look at China -- it's riddled with capitalistic practices across the country.

[CrAz3D]

That other guy seemed much better than Kerry to me. The guy who dropped out kinda early.

To be quite honest: I don't know how I'd vote, if I were American. It seems to me that your recent presidential candidates have all been quite useless.

Howard Dean?...I liked him too, WAY more than Kerry, & more than Bush I believe

[Topaz]

Quakers FTW.

[Arta]

Ya, Howard Dean, That was it.

Btw, according to Time Magazine (on my desk) the shoe thing was Condi Rice. She was shoe shopping in NYwhen the hurricane struck. I have no idea about the $7000 though. It's slightly ironic, I suppose, but otherwise totally irrelevant, imo.

[Soul Taker]

Shoe thing has been all over the news here as well.  Not sure why I'm being threatened with (possible?) ban implications about it...

[Arta]

No ban implications that I saw. You just need to cite a source

[Soul Taker]

I just now noticed this thread is in the politics forum, I thought it was in General, so I was thinking about replies differently.  My error.