CNN—Insidious misinformation?

Okay, CNN is not Fox News, and I am truly grateful to have CNN International on my cable TV here in Buenos Aires, but there is something that has been bothering me.

They regularly run a commercial featuring their correspondent in Cuba. Her name is Lucia Newman, I think. The commercial shows her working and some clips of her reporting. Towards the end their is a clip of her stating to a camera that "Cuba is one of the few countries in the world that still celebrates May Day."

That statement struck me as wrong. It is my sense that much of the world celebrates the 1st day of May as international workers day. The United States is part of the minority that doesn't celebrate it, choosing to instead disconnect our labor movement from the world by celebrating Labor Day in September.

I spent some time searching online, and found a web site that listed holidays worldwide. I found 124 countries that celebrate May Day, out of 191 countries worldwide. Hey CNN, 124 out of 191 is known as a majority.

I sent CNN an email about it...haha! We'll see if I get a response.

By the way, overall CNN International is much better than the US edition. There is actually another commercial of theirs that is great because the reporter says that if George Bush is defeated in November then Tony Blair of England will be the only elected leader of the Iraq war coalition to still be in office. Wow, democracy in action? Let's make it happen folks. I've requested my absentee ballot, let's just hope it doesn't get lost in the mail system here.