“The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER! It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence,” Trump wrote. “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World. “This “Show” is just a “slap in the face” to our Country, which is setting new standards and records every single day – including the Best Stock Market and 401(k)s in History! There is nothing inspirational about this mess of a Halftime Show and watch, it will get great reviews from the Fake News Media, because they haven’t got a clue of what is going on in the REAL WORLD – And, by the way, the NFL should immediately replace its ridiculous new Kickoff Rule. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Where do you start? A show that highlights inclusivity, talent and yes, due to the angst and hate from the MagaTs, bravery. No one understood? The president, (I refuse to capitalize the “P” as he does not deserve that kind of respect.) seems to think being a monolingual moron is a flex…you know, the same guy who is president of Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa…but barely has a grasp of his own mother tongue, let alone be able to communicate with American territories.
Yet…he also wants Venezuela, from what it appears, Mexico and quite obviously Cuba; all Spanish speaking countries. He also wants Canada, where there are two official languages.
Doesn’t take a genius to figure out Venezuela in the equation, oil and lots of it.
Cuba would just become one giant Epstein Island for him and his pedo buddies.
Mexico, huge automobile producers, as well as electronic components, tourism and extending American border reach.
Canada? Massive natural resources, and of course, oil, fresh water sources, lumber…
The first thing that comes to mind when he or any of his bootlickers open their gobs? Zeig Heil, although that’s German and he wouldn’t understand…
So the dementia addled S.A’er, grifter, con-man and convicted felon, currently polluting the White House, has now set his sites on Cuba. Rubio’s current hobby interest.
Is anyone shocked or surprised? I’m not. There have been many discussions around here about how and when, this would happen. It was inevitable. The Gaza paradise insanity isn’t going to plan so what next? I think Rubio and Yam-Tits have watched Godfather II, one too many times.
Cuba has stood up to the U.S. where larger, stronger and wealthier countries have folded like dirty toilet paper, including my own country (something that really shames me).
Cuba is in dire straits and has been for some time; following Castro’s death. The country needs trade, needs essential goods, like fuel, medicines and food stuffs. Where is the rest of the world while this criminal threatens yet another sovereign nation?
Canada, Greenland, Mexico, Gaza, Iran, Venezuela and now Cuba, all are in this idiot’s crosshairs. Little Marco wants Cuba; the potentials for raping this country are enormous and I can see him salivating at the opportunity to turn it into his own little island.
Think what the U.S. did prior to the revolution was bad? If Yam-Tits and little Marco get their hands on that SOVEREIGN nation, we can all just hold their beer because Cuba will be destroyed. I see a larger, more disgusting and ultimately, money-making bonanza than Epstein island.
The world needs to support Cuba, turn that orange dictator aside and move the world toward peace.
If You Agree With The Venezuelan Invasion; Block Me, Unfriend Me…
During a season usually associated with pseudo-Peace-On-Earth-Good-Will-Toward…you know the rest, Yam-Tits invades a sovereign nation, using drugs as his excuse. Let that sink in…he invaded a SOVEREIGN nation; regardless of what Maduro may be, Venezuela is a SOVEREIGN nation. The same as Ukraine, a SOVEREIGN nation in 2022. The same as Poland was a SOVEREIGN nation in 1939.
He is embezzling a nation. He sells himself and his country to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, average Americans are struggling to buy groceries, pay utilities and make medical insurance payments. His bots and misinformation army are in high gear.
None of the above is a news flash to anyone with an I.Q. above that of your average doorknob. What was a newsflash to me, was that I have friends who applaud what the Criminal-In-Chief did with Venezuela. Is Maduro a piece of shit? No kidding. Is it up to a foreign nation to determine the future of a sovereign nation? Absolutely not. Drugs? Come on, who is stupid enough to belief that bullshit? Rescuing the people of Venezuela? Again, take your idiot pill this morning? His backers, his puppet masters want the oil. Apparently they aren’t rich enough.
Who is next? Cuba, with an eye on Mar-A-Lago 2.0 because Gaza doesn’t seem to be working out to well for the slimeball?
And where is the U.N. or N.A.T.O. in all of this?
Honestly, I knew politicians were the worst sort of criminals, bought and sold like streetworkers but with less integrity than the latter. I am withdrawing from the world at large; I am going to concentrate on family, friends, hobbies and my favourite sports teams. My duty is to myself, to my family and to hell with the rest of the world. Fiscal rape and subjugation is at levels that bring to mind the world of medieval monarchy, corruption and the Hapsburgs. We are done, until it is all burned down, we are done.
Let me preface this post with the admission regarding Cuban politics; I know only what I read and what I have, personally, observed since 1995 and our first visit to the country. Conversations with Cubans must be handled with absolute diplomacy. You are warned not to discuss politics. There are ways around this but it isn’t a wise conversational choice.
I love Cuba; I love the people. The dignity, the pride…it is unmatched. In the face of over 50 years of an American Imperialist embargo, they continue to stand up in the face of a most criminal action. Cuba is a sovereign nation, drives American oligarchs crazy. It isn’t that there are tremendous natural resources, it isn’t that it is a country rich in, well…anything really; it is that they have stood up to the U.S.
Cuba is not a terrorist state, it never has been. They haven’t invaded or bombed other sovereign nations, something the U.S. cannot claim. Is it a perfect nation? Hell no. There is poverty, there are stunning shortages, electricity is cut off for the vast majority of the day, for most Cubans but they go on. They survive when they should be entitled to thrive.
Cuba is an example for Canadians. They have stood strong against the embargo at tremendous socio-economic cost. While Cuba has no real natural resource stockpiles, they are still managing. Canada, on the other hand, has untold wealth in natural resources. We are in a far better position to stand against American expansionism.
The hypocrisy of the U.S. is absolutely stunning; the world has been told they cannot trade/import with Cuba because the U.S. says so….meanwhile? Russia is trading and importing although amounts are down due to Russia’s own socio-economic position. Funny how nothing is said to Russia about the defying of the American embargo.
In all fairness, it is difficult to trade with Cuba as they do have a cashflow problem, payment for goods is unreasonably slow, if at all. This starts to head into a topic that I would be best served avoiding.
Canadians are at the top of the tourist food chain in Cuba; we love the country. Absolutely, the weather and the beauty of the beaches are one reason, the people and the history are another but for many, a bonus is this is a way to quietly send a big old F.U. to the United States.
Bottomline, fellow Canadians, if a tiny nation, 90 miles from the U.S. can stand up to the bully, so can we, with our resources, our reputation and our allies. It won’t be easy but we are more than capable of establishing trade relations across the globe and diversifying reliance on the global bully, a bully who has managed to, in just a few weeks, become a global pariah, a joke and the object of increasingly mistrust. The American reputation as a global leader has sunk, time to set a new global leader afloat. We are not spoiled for choice; there are many global leaders more worthy of our allegiance.
(Some sage wisdom regarding tipping in Cuba, I DID NOT write this, I am simply sharing as it is an, often, discussed topic among those of us who visit the beautiful island and her people.)
First may I say thank you so much to all of you who, through your generosity do so much for Cuba. Your gifts, your gratuity and most of all, simply your presence here on the island.
I just read a thread about tipping, and which currency is the best for the Cuban people.
Whether it is a gift, a Loonie, an American dollar or a Euro, a gratuity is a gratuity. There are, however, a few things you should consider, if you are trying to decide how to do so.
For the most part this topic evolves around convenience. Convenience for you, and convenience for the recipient.
To begin, you must understand that there are multiple exchange rates in Cuba. The official bank rate, and the informal exchange rate. There is a big difference. No one knows this system better than the Cubans themselves. The informal rate is twice the bank rate. So, when you tip, the value of that tip will be impacted by that exchange rate. Here are some things to consider:
Tipping in “U.S. Dollars,” is convenient for the Cubans, depending how effectively they exchange that dollar, they may net more proceeds. Inconvenient for a Canadian because Canadians take a hit on the exchange rate., so with that said, a tip of one to two U.S. dollars is still a very good tip.
Tipping in Canadian loonies or twoonies is not a good plan as Cuban banks do not accept the coins, this renders them, pretty much useless to Cubans unless they can find another Canadian willing to exchange them for bills. This is kind of thoughtless as it puts the onus on other Canadians to haul, sometimes, large amounts of the coins, back home.
Tipping in Pesos, is good for both parties but only if you understand the informal exchange rate. If you base the tip on the bank rate, you are not doing the Cuban any favors. If the tip is based on the informal rate of exchange, then the Cuban will be receiving a more realistic tip. Most tourist have no way of knowing that informal rate. For folks on a short one week trip, this is very inconvenient because they have to first get their money exchanged, do so at a competitive rate. Tall order for a first timer. Going to the bank or a Cadeca is a no, no!
Your Cuban friend would like you to tip in “Hard Currency” for multiple reasons,
First and foremost is convenience. They can choose how and when to exchange that money.
They may leave it for weeks or months to exchange depending on their needs and their situation.
They often benefit (sometimes not) from your lack of understanding of the current exchange rate, you might be shorting them, or you might be over tipping.
It is, however, very important to understand, Cubans working in the tourist trade, are the wealthiest people on the island, maids, waiters, bartenders, entertainment staff, bus drivers, taxi drivers for example. Those of us who live here see the cycles. Relationships are everything. A maid at the hotel has multiple relationships with the new arrivals this week, and next week, and week after week, everyone has a friend who is a bartender that took them to their house on his day off for dinner.
No reason to be put off or angry, it is an industry after all, regardless, you are helping a fellow human being.
My wife and I live here, we tip, and we tip often. Generously. We tip in Pesos at the informal rate. Currently 340 to 1 U.S. dollar. We bring U S. dollars because even with the double flip CDN to USD and then USD to Pesos the American Dollar goes way further, as long as we mentally factor in how much we are tipping it works fine.
I know many Canadian tourists who visit the resorts and tip weekly so that they can use a five or a ten dollar note.
I know others that tip with gifts. However, depending on the situation these gifts are often exchanged (Sold), in order to convert the gift to cash. Thankfully there is an army of resellers that take care of that so that the maid can convert those running shoes into dollars. Those hair clips and tee shirts into pesos.
In closing, there is no right way or wrong way. There is what is convenient and what is not. Your Cuban friend will be happy that you helped them no matter how that gratuity is shaped, BUT, I can say to the short term turn around guy, you will never go wrong with a fist full of U.S. one dollar notes, other than the initial exchange (if you are not From the USA) one dollar U.S. bills are easy to calculate quickly. They are convenient for you and convenient for the Cuban.
One more closing point. Restaurants in Cuba are, (like Miami) starting to add gratuity (10 percent) to the restaurant bill. It DOES NOT always show as a line item, but it has been added to the total. Always manually total your bill to detect a hidden tip and avoid doubling up.
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