Morientes50

that sound you hear is the world going back to 1989.....Lets hope it stops there and nothing happens in Taiwan or we could be talking 1945.

We fired Flores. Can't believe it. . He is a good coach....sorry, wrong forum

Played High school football with a guy that was picked 3rd overall in the NFL draft (he didn't have a great NFL career though). My cousin plays for the Chicago Cubs (and yes, he got a ring last year)

But Chinese students are still educated to think Marxism is wonderful. I have students here (I live in China) that are convinced that the economic progress is a form of Marxism (part of a gradual plan). They honestly believe that China has "Marxism with Chinese characteristics". I tell my friends to translate this phase into "capitalism".

As complex as this issue seems on the surface... I think its far more complex underneath, especially when it comes to China. They do NOT want a western democracy on their border (they already feel encircled). They care about preserving their communist party over everything else. Remember they fought a war to preserve the communist north of Korea. Many are educated to be proud of stopping the yanks (even though 900,000 Chinese died). So regime change would be a big embarrassment for the CCP. The Chinese prefer to save face than almost anything else.

The "genocide of Aboriginal inhabitants" was mostly the work of disease. When the Spanish arrived in the new world, they brought diseases that the natives never encountered. this resulted in roughly 70% of the natives dying in the 50 years after Columbus. This happened in Cuba as well. I love studying the Taino and Ciboney etc., always hoping to establish a link to myself. Alas, they were completely wiped out to disease and over work (their small bodies were not able to withstand the strain of slavery). The only remnants of their existence survive in the DNA of Cubans. But to call what happened in the US "Genocide" is to distort the fact that the vast majority died by something other than intentional murder. Again, you are entitled to your own opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts. So we can praise the native Cubans for our cigar habits. And for the words they left in our language: Barbecue, Hurricane, Tobacco, Cuba, Hammock, Papaya, Yucca, iguana and others...

The talk about Batista is largely a straw man fallacy, You can't establish the merits of Mr. A by saying how bad Mr. B was before. Batista might have been a devil or an angel and it still doesn't add weight to what this discussion is about (Fidel Castro). Now, there are those who hold the somewhat racist argument that Castro is good enough because "look at those Latin Americans....they can't do anything right....at least they are better off with this dictator". But i;m sure nobody has this in mind here as you are all honorable men. The appeal to a 1949 visit by a relative is no less anecdotal than all of the thousands of account of emigrants who speak of Havana as a safe and prosperous city. As for the "bitter folks" who left and teach their sons and daughters fiction, well, I won't respond to this personally. All I wish to establish is 2 points 1) Batista was never their hope, a democratic society (and leader) was. 2) I hope that anyone living under the comforts of a democratic country never suffers the misfortune of having to live under a regime like Castro's. They might find that some of the propaganda they have swallowed (like "the work isn't finished left, Castro only needs another 20 years to get things right") was more Chicken sh** than Chicken salad.

Freedom from American control....but at what price? Many enjoyed a high standard of living (my parents certainly did). Fidel brought equality by making everyone poor (unless you had friends in high places). Better literacy but no freedom of expression. Better healthcare but no money to buy the medicines and technology etc. etc. For me, the biggest blight on his record is not allowing freedom of movement for so long. You can do what you like as long as you let people vote with their feet (which he denied to many that had family in America who were willing to pay the price). If that was his only fault (which it isn't), it would be pretty damning IMO. But whatever, as a son of Cuban immigrants I wish the man no harm. His existence allowed me to grow up in the USA. Now the fact that so many punk kids like to wear that Che shirt (even though the man executed so many people)....that still bugs me a bit.

As an American living in China for the last 3 years, its interesting to hear this discussion. If you look at the last 20 centuries, China has had the highest GDP in 18 of them. However, There are many weaknesses in the country that I feel will prevent it from becoming a superpower. So my thesis is that America will stay on top mostly because there is no other country poised to surpass it.Russia? no way. India? Many years needed to fix its problems. Really....If not America, then who else?

Hello Gents, I recently moved to China and am having a hard time finding my favorite drams. Does anyone know a good store selling scotch in Chengdu, China? I know there are many stores in Hong Kong or Shanghai but Chengdu is a long way from the east coast. Thanks for your help. Morientes

Any thoughts on where to get smokes in Chengdu? I am going to be living here for a year while teaching at a university.

I think sometimes tubos are better because of the way they are stored. A tubo cigar will suffer less from humdity or temp. problems in your humidor. I don't think the quality is any different than the rest.

when did elton john join the priesthood?

My avatar is of the WORLD CHAMPION Spanish national team !! And Morientes is one of my all time favorite players.

Groucho Marx and Andres Iniesta