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90 Comments
- Jazzzzz, on 12/30/2008, -4/+27If Cuba played their cards right they could once again become a vacation hotspot for the US. Such a beautiful country that few Americans have visited.
- inactive, on 12/31/2008, -2/+25Lift the embargo. It has only perpetuated Fidel in power, and has done no good to the cuban people.
- inactive, on 12/30/2008, -4/+22I miss Fidel Castro and John Lennon.
- BillDauterive, on 12/30/2008, -0/+14Look at how we perceive Moammar Gadhafi. He instantly became a friend of the U.S. by dismantling his weapons systems with our help. I'd say a couple of conversations between Raul Castro - Hillary - And Barack is all it will take for all of us americans to be lighting up Cuban Cigars legally again.
- Me1000, on 01/01/2009, -1/+12Why not?
I mean my generation doesn't give a damn about the grudge you hold from the cold war. The embargo does nothing for the United States, it didn't make the communist government crumble (not that that is any of our business anyway!)
Grow up! - chaosium, on 01/01/2009, -0/+11Do you seriously think we're the only country with stupid tourists?
- Leadman584, on 12/31/2008, -9/+18If Cuba can manage Universal Healthcare, why can't we?
As a libertarian I oppose government interference on principal, but it seems to work pretty well for Cuba. Venezuela has hundreds of Cuban doctors now. They may be dirt poor, but fewer people dying of curable diseases.
Just asking. - DavidFromCanada, on 01/01/2009, -0/+7I'm American I went to Cuba. Fly to Canada buy a flight on Air Canada to Cuba, don't stamp your passport.
- tehxen3, on 01/01/2009, -1/+8If you could think, you would have said that in one comment.
- elhaf, on 12/31/2008, -1/+7And with the mystique Cuban Cigars have built up over all these years, they'll be an instant hit, even though cigars in general are in decline in America.
- zeebo, on 01/01/2009, -1/+7Why wait? We have open relations with China whose record on human rights is just as bad if not worse, and its not like our own human rights record is spotless. If the embargo hasn't done anything to weaken the hold of the current regime for the last few decades, why wouldn't a change in policy be a good idea?
- replikhant, on 01/01/2009, -4/+10Yeah! Let´s reclaim our old whorehouse, and let´s ***** it up bigtime, just like we ***** up the rest of latin america.
- Gooserbaijan, on 01/01/2009, -1/+7Cuba has managed to educate nearly all their people and managed to turn out many doctors despite the U.S. embargo.
I, as a Canadian, have had the opportunity and privilege to visit Cuba. On my visit i became ill and had to go to a Cuban clinic. Amazing! They were still using ancient tools(thanks to the embargo!!) but made-up with their professionalism and knowledge.
The Cuban people overall blew me away. Their culture has remained in tact. I sincerely hope that Obama can stop this. Most Cubans living today were born after the Missile Crisis. I'm sure that most Cubans love the American culture and i know that Americans would also fall in love with Cuban culture.
fingers crossed! - groo68, on 01/01/2009, -10/+15It's beautiful because no Americans have visited it. And i say this as a born and raised american.
- elhaf, on 12/31/2008, -5/+10Actually you do, because corporations are responsible for a lot of the unhealthy messages that get out to Americans. One can't blame the corporations for doing what is in their own self-interest, in that it is their mandate to maximize profit, but only a governmental agency can step in in such situations and work toward the greater good. That's what government is for.
- chaosium, on 01/01/2009, -1/+6"corporations are responsible for a lot of the unhealthy messages that get out to Americans"
I don't know why this is getting marked down. I support the corporations' right to sell cheap ***** food, but it still make us fat and diseased, and people are INCREDIBLY dumb about nutrition. - DontGiveADamn, on 01/01/2009, -0/+5George Bush kicked some ass... in a bad way.
- replikhant, on 01/01/2009, -4/+8dude, Cuba was one of the most corrupt countries in the world before Castro reclaimed it. Batista was a puppet of the US politicians and the mafia. Regarding their "poor status" I need some sources.
- pushforpeace, on 01/01/2009, -2/+6I'm reading a lot of comments about the advantages lifting the embargo would have on tourism, and that's great, but let's remember that this would bring us one step closer in the direction of diplomacy in other important foreign relations e.g. Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Russia, and regions of the Middle East; I see great things coming from the Obama foreign affairs team. :]
- MarkusDee, on 01/01/2009, -1/+5Until the Korean peninsula is resolved I think the cold war cannot be said to be over.
- groo68, on 01/01/2009, -2/+6I think our country has a significantly higher number of stupid tourists than other countries, but i haven't looked at any details of other countries tourists. What other countries have spring break?
- manstein01, on 01/01/2009, -4/+8When the military dictatorship was overthrown, Cuba was the Caribbean's richest country. Today it is the second poorest behind Haiti. We should lift the embargo, on the condition that some basic human rights needs of the Cuban people are met. But I doubt that happens...
- iMattK, on 12/30/2008, -2/+6Remember, only John Lennon has been confirmed dead. We assume as much with Fidel, but we'll have to verify that.
- inactive, on 01/01/2009, -1/+5Yeah. Who says so? And the average North Korean is better off now. And the average Viet Namese is better off too, huh?
That's why they all need barbed wire and secret police to keep them from escaping.
You're reading too much Zinn and Chomsky. - inactive, on 01/01/2009, -1/+5@kelpee
The vacation area is fenced off. No Cubans allowed except employees. They are searched when they leave and their tips are confiscated. - kelpee, on 01/01/2009, -1/+5I agree. They export quite a bit. They have a huge tourism industry.
I am married to an American who admits he was raised to believe that Cuba is a desolate ***** hole occupied by poor people and broken down '50's vehicles. Such is not the case. The look on his face was priceless the first time he saw a billboard advertising Cuba as a vacation destination. - inactive, on 01/01/2009, -1/+4I bet they become the Vegas of the Caribbean again
- Gooserbaijan, on 01/01/2009, -0/+3good point!
but what do non-communists do? - nirav72, on 01/01/2009, -1/+4hmm...good mohitos and cuban cigars...yep, as an American consumer. Its time!
- HankHill, on 01/01/2009, -0/+3You have obviously never been represented by a public defender.
- inactive, on 01/02/2009, -0/+3@Gooserbaijan
Capitalism is doing just fine. Our problems are because capitalism was interfered with. The US government forced banks to hand out mortgages to people who could not pay for them. That's what they mean by the "subprime mortgage market".
Regarding Cuba, how do you know who's happier than whom? And who's cheerful? What an elitist, paternalistic comment. What's next? You gonna say how the slaves before the Civil War were happy? - Gooserbaijan, on 01/01/2009, -3/+6They're poor because of this freakin embargo! But they're damn rich in culture!!!
- inactive, on 01/02/2009, -0/+3@solistus
No, why don't you tell me how much better Cuba is than North Korea. Both are prisons you can't escape from. Both are dirt poor, though N Korea may be a little poorer. Both have dissidents either locked up or executed. Both are run by dictators that rule for decades.
The weather in Cuba is better. And the music. What else you got? - inactive, on 01/01/2009, -0/+3You think the Cuba has universal healthcare? Why? Just because they say so?
- kemp34, on 12/31/2008, -4/+7I think mass awareness of common sense principles of living a healthy life day-to-day would go a long way towards reducing the level of chronic disease in the U.S. You definitely do not need a federal government massive agency to do that.
- rspawn, on 01/04/2009, -0/+3FTA:
"Obama could respond by prosecuting Luis Posada Carriles, an exile militant who allegedly took part in the hotel attacks as well as the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner in which 73 people were killed. FBI evidence links Posada to the crimes, but the Bush Administration has let him remain free in Miami, — inviting charges of a double standard on terrorism."
dugg - inactive, on 01/01/2009, -1/+4Embargo my ass. They can buy and sell to the entire rest of the world. But communist countries are ALWAYS poor.
- inactive, on 01/01/2009, -0/+3The embargo doesn't keep Cuba from getting medical supplies. They can buy from the entire rest of the world!
What keeps them from getting medical supplies, and car parts and everything else is that their economy is a failure! No surprise. ALL communist countries are failures. Until they use their people as slave labor and sell the fruits to the free world, as Red China does. - andibarnes, on 01/01/2009, -3/+6Cuba may have been the Carribbean's richest economy, but all the money was in the hands of the US, the mafia, and the oligarchy. Honestly, the average cuban is significantly better off now than they were in the '50s - measuring the performance of the economy as a whole won't tell you that. This is not to say that Cubans don't want reform, though!
- deathspeth, on 01/02/2009, -0/+3What about China?
- andibarnes, on 01/01/2009, -0/+3It's the biggest piece of propaganda in the nation. It's been a few years since I was in Havana, but every other street sign last time talked about cuban achievement (esp. sporting) 'contra el bloqueo.'
- ShindeKudasai, on 01/01/2009, -2/+5Why do they need "democratic" elections? Why can't they just live under whatever form of government they choose. That is, after all, what our Founding Fathers believed. We have no business trying to export our way of life just because we think it's better.
- inactive, on 01/01/2009, -1/+4You people that want to keep the embargo need to trust experts like me. I can see Cuba from my house.
- hakluytbean, on 01/01/2009, -2/+5If you do everything I say, then maybe we can be friends...
- hakluytbean, on 01/01/2009, -0/+3As I heard in a recent BBC radio documentary there's a debate now at least.
Lawrence Wilkerson, State Dept. Chief of Staff (02-05):
On the trade embargo: "The Canadians, the Brazilians, the Spanish, The Brits, and others, they all think we're nuts. Our policy simply doesn't make any sense."
On his opponents: "I would tell people like Otto Reich to get a life..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Wilkerson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Reich - jbmcb, on 01/01/2009, -0/+3Ever been to Ibiza?
- zeebo, on 01/01/2009, -1/+4Hospitals should fall into the same category as the police and fire departments. Absolute necessities in society for maintaining the welfare of society. You shouldn't have to think about them, it should just be there when you need it, and we should do far more to encourage preventative medicine since that can save massive amounts of money in the long run, which is one of the big advantages that Cuba and other countries have over us.
I don't think that this would even be detrimental to the doctors more interested in becoming rich than helping people. After all, providing a free service doesn't prevent someone else from providing a premium service. Have you ever heard a lawyer complain that public defenders are putting them out of business? - Gooserbaijan, on 01/02/2009, -0/+2@ 140suffolk I see you don't read the business section or any section for that matter. Capitalism in the U.S. is not doing well because of greed and corruption. And your comment on slavery wasn't your best either. America is what it is today, in part, thanks to slavery. Tell me what China is doing different than what America has done for the last 200 yrs?
Hate Castro as much as you want, but he has never stood for corruption. The American economy and business sector is filled with corruption :(Madoff, Lehman brothers, Fanny Mae, Enron, GM,etc). I think anger and hatred for Castro should be redirected to these Bosozes who have financially ruined many Americans!!! - Gooserbaijan, on 01/02/2009, -0/+2i've been to Cuba several times. But my point is the day Cuban people become "free" they may not be any happier than they are now. And my elitist paternalistic guess on how the slaves felt before the civil war is that they were somewhat unhappy. How my doing so far?
And as far as capitalism is doing, you may want to add corporate greed, and plain old corruption. What has come out into the open in 2008 is way bigger than you may realize. HUGE! There are many hard working and retired Americans who have lost their jobs and/or retirement savings or homes. Now they may have to worry the next time they are ill and must see a doctor. Remember Cuba... universal healthcare... - inactive, on 01/02/2009, -0/+2I wrote this in another post on the same subject and I think it is important to share this here as well.
It's crazy to hear some people actually call Cuba's situation a success, or to even suggest there are some positives. For those of you who say they have great health care- you have never needed medical attention in Cuba. You never lived in Cuba and I would suggest you rethink your mindset.
I would tell you to go there and live there so you can see for yourself. However, I would not want anyone to experience the struggles my family and I have been through in Cuba. Health care is low quality. Everyone gets health care in Cuba, but a dirty piece of cotton wrapped in paper is what you will get to treat infection. The doctors rush you in and out with out examining you. Medicine is rarely handed out and if you are lucky to get medicine, it is probably what you needed to help you.
That is just health care. Most Cubans are dirt poor, Camaguey where I am from is so poor we collect rain water to drink because water is so expensive and it would consume most of our food ration. Yes, food ration. It is called La Libreta de Abastecimiento. You buy more than your share, you go to jail. Each person gets a ration. Does that sound nice to you? You want a Sam's Club tub of potato chips? Get it at your own risk because if the police catch you with it, you would go to jail.
Four members of my family were sent to jail and two were killed there. They were sent to a jail where Ernesto "Che" Guevara was the Chief Executioner. They went to jail because they were meeting on Sundays for bible study. This is not allowed in Cuba. Religion is restricted in Cuba. Plus, the government fears if the people assembler, they will plot against the government. They were studying the bible. I don't think they deserved to be beaten to death for that. The two that made it out of jail 5 years later were never the same. My uncle has been crippled by wet foot and his pregnant wife was the one who was beaten to death in the jail.
Digg me down if you want to turn the cheek to what my experience has been, digg me down if you have a bright and sunny image of Cuba and don't care to hear the reality of what Fidel and his regime have done to us human beings. But know this: Cubans love music, love art, and love life. Don't mistake that for loving what our government has done to us. I was lucky to come over on a lottery, but many others are dying for freedom to enjoy and do those things freely. -
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