tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484626660177622626.post6508077735035897911..comments2024-03-27T19:54:34.479+00:00Comments on Falling On A Bruise: Cuba Taking It SlowlyFalling on a bruisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05518409624331248084noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484626660177622626.post-77058385401543205612009-04-17T23:19:00.000+01:002009-04-17T23:19:00.000+01:00Peaceful, gradual change and not taking the former...Peaceful, gradual change and not taking the former Soviet countries route of wanting everything in one fell swoop.Falling on a bruisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05518409624331248084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484626660177622626.post-76485589846563931422009-04-17T19:08:00.000+01:002009-04-17T19:08:00.000+01:00The embargo makes no sense to me either and I will...The embargo makes no sense to me either and I will be glad to see it go.<br /><br />However, Cuban-Americans cannot be characterized as waiting for their chance to get back in. Those I've known have been very patriotic Americans with no desire to move back to the island. They have differing views on the embargo but I gather those in support of it are mostly influenced by hatred of Castro and what he continues to do to their relatives. I don't really know.<br /><br />That Happy Planet Index is absurd. The obvious reason Cuba ranks so high is because it is "green" for the people having little opportunity to use fossil fuels. The index indeed takes a measure of misery and turns it on its head. Satisfaction is also highly subjective and there's no telling how the data was gathered. Maybe people were overjoyed because no one in their family was thrown in prison that week.<br /><br />Cuba will never be just another country. Is Costa Rica? Mexico? They will go their own way and I hope they take their time and change peacefully.Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16090153485822745036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484626660177622626.post-34678270782934056182009-04-17T01:31:00.000+01:002009-04-17T01:31:00.000+01:00Embargo makes no sense to me. It clearly failed t...Embargo makes no sense to me. It clearly failed to unseat Castro. <br /><br />The people of Cuba are either totally subjugated to government power (which is what we are told all the time) or the don't mind living in abject poverty.<br /><br />QAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484626660177622626.post-62781178060917202242009-04-17T00:05:00.000+01:002009-04-17T00:05:00.000+01:00Yeah, there's never been a good reason for the emb...Yeah, there's never been a good reason for the embargo (or at least in the past few decades).Noghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10741030321448255586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484626660177622626.post-49355437724158940212009-04-16T08:08:00.000+01:002009-04-16T08:08:00.000+01:00That's the part that's always confused me, effay.....That's the part that's always confused me, effay... Just guessing here, but is it because the Cuban-American lobby is a highly <I>political</I> group, more interested in effecting political change (i.e. getting themselves and their mates into power on the island) than they are in actually helping their fellow countrymen now? If so, they sound like the Cuban equivalent of that bullshitting shyster, Ahmed Chalabi.Cheezyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10176170186766506070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484626660177622626.post-472211943057463022009-04-16T06:22:00.000+01:002009-04-16T06:22:00.000+01:00The embargo on Cuba has been one of the most absur...The embargo on Cuba has been one of the most absurd actions of the US over the past 50 years. The standard explanation is that Cuba doesn't allow elections, so we can't trade with them. Yet somehow we are able to trade with China and Vietnam and many other countries with no political freedom. I am convinced that isolating despotic regimes almost always leads to less political freedom and even worse economic conditions, and vice versa. I think Cuba is in position to be a prime example of the slippery slope towards freedom if we give them a chance. Plus, another trading/competition partner is also good for us.<br /><br />I will also not that I have always thought it odd that the Cuban-American lobby opposes open relations. Apparently they don't recognize the substantial benefits their relatives back in Cuba would see from enhanced opportunity.Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10852642278050989281noreply@blogger.com