U.S. - Cuba relations thaw

[2xx1xy1JD]

What does everyone think of this? Rewarding a dictatorship or changing a failed policy?

I also have to say that this article in the Toronto Star was possibly the most shallow coverage:

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014 ... s_say.html

'Cause yeah, the most important question is whether Canadians can still get cheap beach holidays.

[i did go on those cheap holidays in 1998 and 2001. It's a bit surreal there - you've got hotel gift shops selling sunscreen and Che Guevara shirts, a Communist country that makes it best beaches off-limits to anyone but foreign capitalist tourists, free health care but a dire shortage of medicine, a weird fetish with America of the 1950s, hotel staff asking if we had Tylenol, used toilettries or suggestions for getting out of Cuba....I suspect that more contact with the United States will reduce some of the isolation and have a big impact on the culture, so that it would start to look more like Mexico and less like a time capsule.]

[CallmeChaCha]

What do you think about this? I don't know much about politics and foreign relations, but I do hope this brings about positive changes to Cubans. I see it more in terms of how it will affect the people. Change can start at the bottom. (That's my layperson two cents.)

[Coco]

Does it have to do with anything with planning ahead for national security? :think: Just seems like weird timing, unless the current administration is running out of things they can get done.

[GeoBQn]

I asked for my dad's opinion on this, since he is old enough to remember the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis. Even with that experience, he thinks it will make a positive difference, and people will be more likely to accept change when they see improvements in their quality of life. As for the idea that we are rewarding dictatorship . . . frankly, the US maintains friendly relations with countries that have equally questionable governments and human rights abuses. From that standpoint, an embargo just doesn't make sense anymore.

[Firiel]

What does everyone think of this? Rewarding a dictatorship or changing a failed policy?

I also have to say that this article in the Toronto Star was possibly the most shallow coverage:

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014 ... s_say.html

'Cause yeah, the most important question is whether Canadians can still get cheap beach holidays.

[i did go on those cheap holidays in 1998 and 2001. It's a bit surreal there - you've got hotel gift shops selling sunscreen and Che Guevara shirts, a Communist country that makes it best beaches off-limits to anyone but foreign capitalist tourists, free health care but a dire shortage of medicine, a weird fetish with America of the 1950s, hotel staff asking if we had Tylenol, used toilettries or suggestions for getting out of Cuba....I suspect that more contact with the United States will reduce some of the isolation and have a big impact on the culture, so that it would start to look more like Mexico and less like a time capsule.]

I've got to say that I'm comforted by this post. Here I thought the US was obnoxiously shallow and materialistic by seeming to focus news coverage on the fact that we can legally get Cuban cigars now. I'm glad it's just as ridiculous up there in Canada!

[bluehydrangea]

I think the key to this whole thing is a lot of follow-through on our government's part. My understanding is that a lot of older people, particularly older Cubans, are very against this. The Castro brothers' crimes against their own people have been so bad that many people feel like the U.S. is just going to line their pockets even more and the people won't see the benefits of it. But if the US can continue to negotiate humanitarian freedoms with the promise of increased trade, then this could be a very good thing. But this has to be a commitment on Obama's part and on the part of administrations to come.

[doggie]

america should corrupt Cuba just fine :cracking-up: thats the best way to change them. Hook them up with the internet and comcast and a few years later problem solved.

[Vivi_music]

To be honest, it was bound to happen. I knew I was gonna see it in my lifetime but I do agree: it was surprising to reveal it now. Me thinks Obama is rushing because he's afraid of the new republican house? :think:

To be fair, the embargo was a relic of the past. Cuba is clearly not a threat to the US anymore and that embargo proved nothing over the 50 years it was imposed. I think normalizing the diplomatic ties is better than no relationship between the two countries at all. And about the dictatorship? I'm not saying the Cuban state is a good one but the US have other totalitarian allies. In the end, the ''raison d'État'' wins. National interests are bigger than any dictatorship.

As for Canadians complaining about Cuba being invaded by Americans, well do they think we are so much better? Rude tourists are rude tourists. I've met plenty of rude compatriots whilst traveling. And the prices going up? Oh well.

[FloraKitty35]

america should corrupt Cuba just fine :cracking-up: thats the best way to change them. Hook them up with the internet and comcast and a few years later problem solved.

We corrupted them before. The mafia had a large interest in the casinos in Havana and a number of wealthy Americans had holiday homes in Cuba (such as Ernest Hemingway and Irenee Du Pont).

[Coco]

Washington Week yesterday suggested that it was a tactic to gain votes in FL - Cuban Americans generally vote democratic. :D And since the Republicans could electoral-college their way into the White House, swing votes count. And even though the Cuba deal was supposedly 18 months in the making, they also hinted that it could have been a distraction tactic from the Sony hack. So interesting.

pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/episode/north-koreas-sony-hack-attack-us-cuba-relations-thaw-and-bush-clinton-political-dynasties

[RosyDaisy]

A Facebook friend had some no so nice things that should have been done about Cuba and Casro decades ago. Since my Facebook and the friend's Facebook are private, I can't quote directly, but it involved violence.

I'm actually glad this is happening. Once things have thawed out, I can see Cuba gradually becoming a more democratic country and a possible ally in the future.

[doggie]

We corrupted them before. The mafia had a large interest in the casinos in Havana and a number of wealthy Americans had holiday homes in Cuba (such as Ernest Hemingway and Irenee Du Pont).

things are different now we have trwerking and pop stars and reality TV that will turn any nation into a wanna be US.

[Coco]

Washington Week yesterday suggested that it was a tactic to gain votes in FL - Cuban Americans generally vote democratic. :D And since the Republicans could electoral-college their way into the White House, swing votes count. And even though the Cuba deal was supposedly 18 months in the making, they also hinted that it could have been a distraction tactic from the Sony hack. So interesting.

pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/episode/north-koreas-sony-hack-attack-us-cuba-relations-thaw-and-bush-clinton-political-dynasties

sorry to quote myself but i ran out of time to edit this to make my point more clear - i should have said they kind of hinted that the Cuba announcement could have been timed to distract from the terror aspect of the Sony hack: to provide another headline so North Korea (if it was North Korea) wouldn't accomplish making people concerned about safety online or in theaters.

But it might have been timed to make Cuban Americans toast the Democrats over the holidays. :lol: who knows.

There's so many possible angles. :geek:

[LainieR]

I was there shortly after Obama was elected. The Cuban people were SO hopefully that he would bring about change. Our bus driver to Havana actually had his picture on the dashboard.

[ViolaSebastian]

Here's counting down to Disneyland Cuba :roll:

[GeoBQn]

Here's counting down to Disneyland Cuba :roll:

I keep thinking of the South Park episode where Kyle wants to go to a rock concert, but his parents don't want him to. They tell him he can't go until he empties the garbage, shovels the driveway, and brings democracy to Cuba. Kyle then succeeds at all three things, and plans to build Knott's Berry Farm Havana continue.