Reactions to Guest Speaker

Guest speaker Ned Sublette was an interesting speaker, with much experience in the communications and media field. He has changed careers or professions a couple of time, which throughout his lifetime has given him much experience and anecdotes. His subjects throughout the presentation ranged from his experience working in public radio, producing political, music and talk radio, writing books, and his experience in New Orleans before, during, and after the occurrences of hurricane Katrina. Out of all the subjects that he talked about, the fact of how many people in New Orleans did not know that hurricane Katrina was approaching and the intensity which it possessed. Mr. Sublette used the example of how Cuba, a communist totalitarian nation, is very well prepared for hurricanes, which hit their coast every year in more than one occasion. He stated that due to Cuba's restrictions in media, all of Cuba just has a couple of stations in both radio and television. Though oppressive, this allows the government to issue warnings well before the hurricane is approaching, allowing citizens to take precautions and aiding the government in evacuating, thereby avoiding many casualties.