The older I get and the more I read about world history, the more I am ashamed of America.

Even a brief reading of the Spanish American War would tell the casual reader of the courage of the early Cuban revolutionaries in their attempts to rid themselves of Spanish Imperialism. Then, in a few weeks, TR and his elitest run up a hill and get all the credit for the victory, while the real victors, the Cubans, got no credit for decades of fighting - but, they did get a new imperialist. Just like in the Philipines, the local heroes get lied to and screwed by Americans and have to fight again for their independence.

I will never understand why Americans are so afraid of admitting that Cuba is a nation, though poor and struggling, that is successful without American help.

Haiti would have been better without any American help from the beginning, and the help that America provides now must be looked at as having an alterior motive. Already, American generals are calling for Haiti to be under American military rule.

Watch out Haiti - America is there to help.

Given the text, the first three words of this heading certainly should not be 'Cuba is Missing...' even if it does refer to what the US media is claiming.

-"There are only two US media outlets that have reported on Cuba’s response to the deadly 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti. One was Fox News, which claimed, wrongly, that the Cubans were absent ..."

Yes this is why South and Central America and the rest of us in the world are coming to see that the arrival of Obama a year ago will not improve relations between the world and America. No matter what overtures we make to the Americans, the people there are not even aware of it, so Obama, or whoever is in charge in the US, is free to continue with warfare as usual.

Otherwise put, peace and democracy requires an informed public. So while the Americans build their new army bases in Columbia and support the coup in Honduras, the rest of us will have to work closer and closer together.

Cuba's involvement was of course reported by Democracy Now yesterday. On that program it was reported that Cuba had already established 2 field hospitals while we were doing the George Bush, now Obama thing, flying over to survey the situation. The program also reported, though I've not read or heard anything in the western corporate media, that China had been the first country to land a plane with relief supplies. I do know that only us the Western saviours can be heros in any disaster after all we've figured out how to text message a dollar or 2 with no fuss to the place.

I felt sick when I heard the US military was being sent to Haiti to help with aid and "peace keeping." We all know what that means.

Despite unending US efforts to the contrary, the Cuban people have better health care than we do in the United States.

Bless the Cuban doctors for their solidarity with the Haitian people, not only now, while the world is watching, but always.

Wait a minute. Does the U.S. aid figure include the money spent on the propaganda campaign to tell the American people what a great humanitarian effort the U.S. is providing to Haiti?

That number should greatly inflate the overall expenditure figures.

"...the reality that Cuba already had over 400 doctors posted to Haiti.."

This is wrong, so please do not perpetuate this lie - it makes Progressives look stupid.

The reality is that Cuba had over 400 "emergency workers" in Haiti before the first US C130 landed, as I reported yesterday in another thread.

These workers are doctors, EMTs, crisis workers and S&R dog teams. They are NOT all doctors.

It's with omissions like this that the US establishment builds the prejudices they want the American people to have -- consistently presenting just our side of the truth.

"Otherwise, the US has basically ignored the ongoing day-to-day human crisis in Haiti, while Cuba has been doing the yeoman work of providing basic health care."

"But that’s not a story that the American corporate media want to tell."

So, who owns American corporate media?
What other news do they keep under their shirt?
Americans must gather information from a variety of sources or we will be lead down the garden path again and again.
ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, MSNBC, all lie!!

Oblabla's first blabla on Haiti was that "With just a few hundred miles of ocean between us, Haitians are our neighbors in the Americas and here at home" ... as though Cuba wasn't even THERE. Haiti's ALREADY Obama's Katrina.

Maybe that's because of the US base at Gitmo -- from where you'd think "the US" could have air-dropped, at least, water. That CNN got there days before "the US" speaks volumes.

--> Aristide, Haiti's exiled ex-president, offers to return and help rebuild
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-haiti-aristide16-2010jan16,0,6151310.story

I am glad to see that my fellows here have reported Democracy Now's excellent coverage of the crisis and distinct mention of Cuba's positive involvement.

While Lindorff is "correct in spirit" or something of the sort, Democracy Now is likely the single first place he should have gone to have vetted or verified such a statement.

Had he simply qualified the statement by a "virtually" or "almost," the exception of Democracy Now, a program clearly apart from the overwhelming mass of commercial disinformation, would raise no objection.

One cannot check every single media outlet in 48 hours or so, but by that very token, one should realize that one has not done so.

There is a fairly important something to be gained from such cautions: it's veracity.

I don't often cross-post, but I put this on another story and it seems apropos here

Hmmm, you don't see this in the mass media.
http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/world/2010/1/14/34483/Cuba-sends-more-doctors-to-Haiti
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Cuba sends more doctors to Haiti

Havana.– The first contingent of Cuban doctors specializing in assisting after natural disasters and serious epidemics headed for Haiti, following the massive earthquake that struck the empoverished Caribbean country on Tuesday.

The brigade was first established to offer help to the United States when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005, an offer rejected by ex-President George W. Bush.

Since then the brigade has been on the scene after earthquakes in Pakistan and China, the Tsunami in Indonesia and major flooding in Guatemala and Bolivia.

Cuba already had 344 doctors and other health professionals working full time in Haiti under an agreement with the Haitian government.
------------------------------------------
Cuba is already working on relief, while our scamsmen are trying to figure out how to make the most bucks and the government makes plans.

Just as in the Katrina aftermath, we will plan while the people die of thirst, hunger and disease. Eventually, we will arrive there with much fanfare, after most have died or are dying.

DIsaster workers know that there is about a three day survival window for those who are trapped. After that, finding anybody alive is more a miracle than anything else.

But, we won't send cargo drops in because there might be riots. We can't do much at the airport because it is clogged, so we'll posture and wait until the 10,000 troops and no doubt mercenaries are in position to invade and make sure nobody riots. By that time, the number able to riot will be severely curtailed.

Then, we'll trumpet how much we helped and what it cost us (rented aircraft carrier and troop transports, etc.) and how noble we are. I imagine the Haitians will be much like the poorer survivors of Katrina, living in camps for years, until forgotten.

My heart grieves for humanity as it goes through the same lessons time after time, learning nothing.

I raised the question of the Cuban presence and the news blackout at another thread yesterday.

Today I'm wondering why people in Haiti are barricading the streets with anything they can find, including bodies.

"The Marines are coming. The Marines are coming"???

As usual NPR is taking too much time with "human interest" stories.

As for listening to the MSM, I don't find them entertaining at all. I just want to find out what lies most Americans are being told.

-30-

.
Cuba today is an independant and honorable nation.

Free of the domination of Imperial powers like the U.S.A.

The Cuban Freedom and its generous people are a nobel example to the rest of the world.

I question why my country, the United States of America is so afraid of CUBA 2010 !!!!!!!!!!!!!

.

I was amazed by the lead on BBC World Radio this morning: "Haitians spent a third night sleeping out in the open"- THEY"RE COUNTING DAYS! For an ordeal which is likely to extend for MONTHS, YEARS and even the whole of their remaining LIVES!

And I think its only natural to wonder why there is hardly any damage at all in neighboring Santo Domingo- could it be because they actually use reinforcement and the proper amounts of cement in their concrete structures? And will "reconstruction" in Haiti follow the same direction as it has in Iraq- by means of private contractors who line their own pockets by doing shoddy work? Will the lives of poor residents be given the same consideration as those in New Orleans after Katrina? One should also inquire for what purpose the now estimated 10,000 marines will be used, especially with respect to the current government of Haiti which was fundamentally dis-functional, serving only the interests of an oppressive elite, before the disaster.

It's nice to be able to point to the despicable remarks by Rush Limbaud ( that no aid should be sent at all) or Pat Robertson ( The disaster was Divine retribution for the pack that Haitians made with the Devil)- THAT OH SO HELPFULLY DRAWS ATTENTION AWAY FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN: the question whether our government- which is failing its own citizens on so many levels, has the moral and intellectual capacity to apply what aid it does provide appropriately i.e. with justice and equality!

It is no wonder that President Clinton, in his hopeful remarks about being able to help, was on the verge of tears the whole time. Was he simply "feeling the Haitian's pain", or fighting a sense of the incredible difficulty of the operation, real doubts about the willingness of Congress to make the long-term commitments and the truly humanitarian judgments necessary to make it work- and the catastrophe that is likely to develop while Americans immerse themselves in the pornography of human disaster, and then finally boil down their entire effort to a matter of 'security' and a "war on Terror"

Viva Cuba--a shinning example of social righteousness--although a dictatorship, it is a very brave and honest one--I rather be living under the rule of a good dictator than greedy,evil,destructive, and deceitful manipulators, such as we have here in the USI at this present time. I believe that the US government has always been very jealous of Castro,their ex-president--hell they tried to murder him in cold blood at least eight times--and the power of Jah would not allow it to happen.

There is always plenty of commentary to describe the spectacle and and point to the
many causes of Haiti’s ongoing disaster.

This often leads to the conflict paradigm with revolution suggested to change the major structures in the complex money / power arrangements.

I suppose being informed how these mazes of structures inter-react by sites like this one and others eg: (getoffyourbutts) post are certainly helpful.

The discussion that often follows though seems to be a left - right argumentative synopsis or a cynical view that the system is totally dysfunctional and there is no possible outcome except word wide tragedy or breakdown.

Perhaps the elites will have an epiphany or a ‘glasnost’ that fairly traded products and a fair wage for labor will in the long run actually benefit the ever ruling bottom line.

Cuba prides itself on its provision of free universal healthcare. Media coverup???

For all the old Cold War Warriors and associated right wing Cuban white Miami-ists, Cuba is still the ongoing punching bag. Unfortunately the the US media has followed these hateful bastards down the rat-hole. I suppose this will continue even after Castro dies.
This is Florida Politics:
You have your South Florida, I hate Castro Cubans.
Your Central Florida vote Republican till I die seniors,
and the North Florida bible thumpers and rednecks.
People are flying out of here like cockroaches on a swampy August night.