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In case you can’t get enough of bad news, the UN has released it’s annual tally of the 10 stories the world should hear more about. Tragedies most people are unaware of because they are underreported by the world press.

Alice O’Keefe has written a great article about the current mood in Cuba for the New Statesman (by the way, you can listen to all their articles). The article was written shortly before Fidel’s brother Raúl Castro made his first public statement, warning that Cuba was ready for any armed attack from US forces. In sum, the situation seems to be public calm and official caution, but overall acceptance (and fear) that it could change very quickly.

Big surprise: The US government has found the FBI free of any wrongdoing in the killing of Puerto Rican militant Filiberto Ojeda Rios, in spite of letting him bleed to death in his house over 18 hours, and apparently setting out with the clear intention of killing the 72-year old. Ojeda Rios was killed in September 2005 and political leaders in Puerto Rico on both sides of the independence question have condemned the FBI’s actions.

The Guardian
People’s Weekly World
Forbes
Claridad

Matt Fleischer points out the irony: A stern talking to, a little community service and an $800 payment of dues for the former White House advisor caught stealing more than $5000 worth of goods from Target. Meanwhile in New Orleans, 15 years in prison for looting a couple of hundred dollars worth of merchandise in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Georgia Popplewell on Global Voices does an excellent job of summarizing the global chatter about Castro’s birthday photos. Have they been doctored? By Adidas?

More than 200,000 people signed this petition in 4 days. Friends in New York have put this together, and are printing out names, packing them into boxes, and delivering them to the UN very soon. Help it become the fastest growing petition in history. Ask world leaders to demand a ceasefire in Lebanon and Israel NOW.

In the meantime, the US gov is pondering whether to send rockets with cluster munitions to Israel. Note how cautiously the writer suggests it kills people if you fire them into populated areas. No kidding.

A woman in the theatre started crying really loud when the buildings came crashing down. She totally lost it, and I couldn’t help feeling a little choked up, wondering how many people in the audience were watching the film thinking about the last minutes of people they knew. The scenes of the towers falling and papers flying through the air were quite well done.

But really, I spent most of the film trying not to laugh at the bad acting, ridiculous script, and superficial characters. And I still can’t figure out whether Nicolas Cage’s moustache was fake. Several people walked in late, there was loud slurping of straws, changing of shoes, and giggling. Don’t believe the hyped reviews that tell you people in New York are watching this film in the serenest of moods. At the movie theatre on Union Square they were still laughing about how crap it was when they walked out on the sidewalk.

Oliver Stone has arguably made the shittiest movie of his career about one of the most significant global events of the century. He’s always courted controversy, but the most controversial thing about the film World Trade Center is just how bad it is.

The weirdest character in the film is a US marine (cut and paste from Platoon?) who decides to travel to New York to help rescue people from the rubble, but only after spending a long time staring at a wooden cross – and getting a haircut. He talks about God a lot, doesn’t do anything to save people, shows off his marine knife, and then (we learn in the post script) he goes to Iraq to fight.

Iraq? What about Afghanistan, Bin Laden, or the Taliban? They’re never mentioned in the movie, which is pretty septic when it comes to politics except for a brief clip of George Bush, after the pet goat incident and before he gets swept away to safety. It’s a boring film, full of overly sentimental Americanisms, and poorly made flashbacks. It does no service to the victims or moviegoers, or to documenting what actually happened.

Fidel Castro temporarily handed over the presidency to his brother Raúl while he undergoes surgery. Reportedly, no one in Cuba seems to think he will die yet (80th birthday celebration postponed until December) but the international media is awash with speculations he might croak.

I went to a hardware store a few hours ago. The TV was on and NY1 local television was interviewing president of the Cuban parliament Ricardo Alarcón about the $80 million plan to promote democracy in Cuba the US government announced three weeks ago. “Why is the United States always making plans for other countries?” asked Alarcón. “Wasn’t Vietnam enough? Wasn’t Afghanistan or Iraq enough? The United States is not the owner of the world.”

As unhappy as some Cubans are about the political situation, I have yet to meet anyone in Cuba who think the United States holds the solution to their problems. More common (if unlikely) were fears that the US would somehow turn Havana into the next Baghdad when Castro dies.

Considering the beleaguered history between these two countries, it’s simply impossible to believe the US truly has the best interests of Cubans at heart. Even the guy at the hardware store shook his head and muttered, “The US trades with China, Eastern Europe, with everyone. But they just let those people in Cuba suffer.”

Meanwhile the stupid news ticker on the building of the US Diplomatic Mission in Cuba broadcast a message in red letters today: ”All Cubans, including those under the dictatorship, can count on our help and support. We respect the wishes of all Cubans.”

Yeah, right.

Finally, openDemocracy has won one of the coveted (in the UK) New Statesman New Media Awards in the category of Independent Information. Hurray!

To those who might have objections to Miss Universe candidates prancing around in bikinis, let’s just take a moment to defend Miss Indonesia’s right to do so. Bikinis are againt the law in Indonesia – as are beauty pageants. Now Miss Nadine Chandrawinata faces up to 6 years in prison for wearing one in public.