This is taken from The Lede, a New York Times blog by Robert Mackey
The only image I could think of that would be an expression of my feelings is the screaming lady (I've used her before - maybe she'll be my logo). She represents my disbelief and terror that I live in such a strange world.
For contast, I also include a picture of Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela, Miss Universe 2008
I'm copying the blog entry from the the Lede in its entirety because it contains the full text of Miss Universe's blog entry about her trip to Guantanamo.
But, why does this fill me with disbelief and wonder?
[I have spent the better part of an hour trying to articulate why this makes no sense to me.] There are two worlds. The public and the private. If we all know the public world of Miss Universe is a put-on, then why would her reaction be newsworthy? Yes, her reaction to Guantanamo Bay was bizarre and inappropriate given its recent past, but why would Robert Mackey expect her to understand that? Maybe he expected her handlers to understand it? The USO?
I've always had trouble with these duplicitous (marked by deliberate deceptiveness especially by pretending one set of feelings and acting under the influence of another) systems. It seems to me you have to be clear about how you're judging them - by their public or private persona. In that case, though, if you know the public persona is false, why bother making a case that Miss Universe doesn't understand the issues at Guantanamo Bay? Why not just go for the Miss Universe Organization itself and its hypocrisy?
Or, am I being the Miss Universe contestant here? Am I not getting something?
Maybe the only thing to 'get' is that we live in a bizarre world.
Miss Universe Visits Guantánamo Bay
By Robert Mackey
Updated | March 31 Don’t ask us how or why we came across this — and the British home secretary’s husband did not bring it to our attention — but the latest entry on the blog of the reigning Miss Universe, Dayana Mendoza, has a sort of eye-catching dateline: “March 27, 2009, Guantánamo Bay.”
Venezuela’s Dayana Mendoza was crowned Miss Universe in July, 2008. According to the Web site of the U.S.O., which arranged the visit, the Miss Universe Organization made the decision to “deploy Crystle Stewart, Miss U.S.A. 2008, and Dayana Mendoza, Miss Universe 2008, to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to visit troops as part of a U.S.O./Armed Forces Entertainment tour.”
Ms. Mendoza, who competed as Miss Venezuela, has a blog on the pageant’s Web site, and here’s what she wrote last Friday, after her deployment:
This week, Guantánamo!!! It was an incredible experience.
We arrived in Gitmo on Friday and stared going around the town, everybody knew Crystle and I were coming so the first thing we did was attend a big lunch and then we visited one of the bars they have in the base. We talked about Gitmo and what is was like living there. The next days we had a wonderful time, this truly was a memorable trip! We hung out with the guys from the East Coast and they showed us the boat inside and out, how they work and what they do, we took a ride around the land and it was a loooot of fun!
We also met the Military dogs, and they did a very nice demonstration of their skills. All the guys from the Army were amazing with us.
We visited the Detainees camps and we saw the jails, where they shower, how the recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books. It was very interesting.
We took a ride with the Marines around the land to see the division of Gitmo and Cuba while they were informed us with a little bit of history.
The water in Guantánamo Bay is soooo beautiful! It was unbelievable, we were able to enjoy it for at least an hour. We went to the glass beach, and realized the name of it comes from the little pieces of broken glass from hundred of years ago. It is pretty to see all the colors shining with the sun. That day we met a beautiful lady named Rebeca who does wonders with the glasses from the beach. She creates jewelry with it and of course I bought a necklace from her that will remind me of Guantánamo Bay :)
I didn’t want to leave, it was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful.
That glowing account of Ms. Mendoza’s visit to the U.S. Naval Station at Guantánamo Bay is unlikely to please Hugo Chavez, her country’s president. Mr. Chavez, who reportedly called Ms. Mendoza to congratulate her when she won the Miss Universe crown last year, recently called on the United States to “return Guantánamo and Guantánamo Bay to the Cubans” after closing the detention facility there.
Mr. Chavez, who is close to the Cuban leadership, may now be rethinking the praise he heaped on Ms. Mendoza on Venezuelan television last year, when she returned to Caracas with the crown: [YouTube video here, which I'm not including]
Update: The Miss Universe Organization, which we had been unable to reach for comment on Monday, sent us a written statement (.pdf) on Ms. Mendoza’s visit, and blog post, late on Tuesday afternoon. The statement, which notes that Miss Universe is “An NBC Universal, Inc. and Donald J. Trump Partnership,” is from Paula Shugart, the organization’s president. It reads, in part:
Dayana Mendoza’s comments on her blog were in reference to the hospitality she received while meeting the members of the U.S. military and their families who are stationed in Guantánamo.
The Miss Universe Organization echoes the mission of the USO, which is to lift the spirits of U.S. troops and their families wherever they serve. We will continue to show our appreciation and express our gratitude to the military personnel who serve our nation.
*****
My Update:
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, April 4 (UPI) -- The commander of the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, says Miss Universe and Miss USA visited the camp for the benefit of troops stationed there.
"They were on tour to say `hello and thank you' to the guard force," Navy Rear Adm. David M. Thomas Jr. told The Miami Herald.
Crystle Stewart, Miss USA, and Miss Universe, Dayana Mendoza, of Venezuela were at the camp from March 21 through March 24 on a trip arranged by the USO, which provides entertainment for the U.S. military. Critics said the camp violated the Geneva Conventions ban on allowing detainees to be an object of "public curiosity" by allowing the two beauty queens to see a prisoner compound.
Mendoza wrote about Guantanamo in her blog, describing the water in the bay as "sooo beautiful" and the camp as "very interesting."
Guards told the Herald the women were conservatively dressed and the detainees appeared not to notice them.
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