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Obama shakes hands with Cuba's Castro in 'gesture of hope'

sawyerloggingon said:
Because they were allies against communism when the cold war was Americas biggest threat. We were allies with Stalin too if you remember your history at all.
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Of course you're right. It's useless to compare what went on in wartime with what goes on in peacetime.
 
specklebang said:
I contend that prosperity brings freedom.
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Actually freedom brings prosperity.

I remember the USSR and how when we gave in and sent them food, the beginning of the end of Strict Communism was not too far behind.
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Do you feel that sending Russia wheat was the end of Communism? For whom?

Yes, lets lay on their beaches, just as we do the rest of the Caribbean and poison their minds with our wealth and our liberties (we still have some) and I believe we'll see real change forced upon the dictators.
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How does wealth and freedom poison minds? Would they be better off with food stamps?

The ghost of Meyer Lansky would approve.
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Does anyone really care about Meyer Lansky?

Apologies if you were just being sarcastic here. I'm not certain you're serious.
 
sawyerloggingon said:
He should have given him a very brief and formal hand shake while looking him straight in the eye and quickly moved on without saying anything. That would be proper protocol. No need to bow and scrape or "step and fetch" even.


EDIT: It almost looks like he's saying "yes massa".
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Much ado about nothing - expected behavior from small-minded clowns.
 
Grant said:
Actually freedom brings prosperity.

Do you feel that sending Russia wheat was the end of Communism? For whom?

How does wealth and freedom poison minds? Would they be better off with food stamps?

Does anyone really care about Meyer Lansky?

Apologies if you were just being sarcastic here. I'm not certain you're serious.
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Actually freedom brings prosperity.
•They go hand in hand. It doesn't matter who goes first.

Do you feel that sending Russia wheat was the end of Communism? For whom?
• Yes, it is just my opinion. So, I guess for me.

How does wealth and freedom poison minds? Would they be better off with food stamps?
• That was meant to be humorous. The "poisoning" thing I mean. I meant it in a good way, like giving suppressed masses a taste of the better life.

Does anyone really care about Meyer Lansky? Apologies if you were just being sarcastic here. I'm not certain you're serious.
•The Meyer Lansky comment was meant as gentle humor. I saw a movie decades ago showing Lansky in Cuba doing his thing and partying hard. Casinos, trollops, all that stuff. I didn't expect anyone to care. I'm just being light-hearted but at the same time I'm discussing the OP and its ramifications.
:peace
 
Montecresto said:
And when did the US have the moral high ground? Sounds like 'rah rah America' cheer leading.
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we have a great system of government, run into the ground by hyperpartisan hacks.

We have a dynamic economy -for the 1%'rs, whom have gained back almost all pre-recession losses.

We have a right to strike back at terrorists, whom truely pose a threat to the US, but we wind up entagling ourselves in foreign civil wars.
( Libya/Afganistan/ Yemen to an extent)

I'm all for American exceptionalism, we can be an exceptional people. I'm not all for the idea we have to impose our standards on the rest of the world.
 
Mason66 said:
The government controls everything in Cuba.

If the government wanted those buildings fixed, they would be fixed.

Do you think if the US trades with Cuba, it will all of a sudden become a democratic capitalist society?
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since you addresed me, the Havana buildings are constantly worked on.
They need to raze some of them, and need US type contractors - skilled labor, but more than that materials.
Craftmen/carpenters manage to try to kepp them up, but the climate, and the age is taking it's toll.

Again i mention the US is a natural trading partner (by geography), and it is just plain stupid to keep a hostile regime
even more hostile by a useless US Embargo.

Yes Cuba trades with the world, but the old Soviet subsidys are gone. The US subsidizes our sugar - it's even called "Big Sugar"
and it's damn near ruined the Everglades.

Cuba isn't a rich country, and their socilism has good and bad parts, they are finally encouracing some private enterprise.
The US should be encouraging this, not punishing them with an outdated Embargo

The Cuban Embargo is FUBAR - Urban Dictionary: fubar
 
Grant said:
That was also the same situation in the Middle East when he bowed there, and Human Rights was not an issue then. Democracy and human rights are no longer a major concern for Barrack Obama.
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Of course Obama is going to shake Castro's hand; they're fellow Conmunists. We are all aware of the millions of murders committed by the Communists.

Obama probably wispered to him, "I wish I could get away with it, too".
 
annata said:
since you addresed me, the Havana buildings are constantly worked on.
They need to raze some of them, and need US type contractors - skilled labor, but more than that materials.
Craftmen/carpenters manage to try to kepp them up, but the climate, and the age is taking it's toll.

Again i mention the US is a natural trading partner (by geography), and it is just plain stupid to keep a hostile regime
even more hostile by a useless US Embargo.

Yes Cuba trades with the world, but the old Soviet subsidys are gone. The US subsidizes our sugar - it's even called "Big Sugar"
and it's damn near ruined the Everglades.

Cuba isn't a rich country, and their socilism has good and bad parts, they are finally encouracing some private enterprise.
The US should be encouraging this, not punishing them with an outdated Embargo

The Cuban Embargo is FUBAR - Urban Dictionary: fubar
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Rewarding bad behavior says that it's ok.
 
Higgins86 said:
I was more offended that Cameron and Obama thought it was appropriate too pull out a camera and do a "selfie" whilst at a memorial service....
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Well, the Obama disciples in the Libbo media are making it all about Obama
 
Mason66 said:
I thought, as it was posted earlier in this thread, that Cuba has a national health system and more doctors than anywhere else.

How can the people be suffering in Cuba and why would it be the fault of the US if Cuba can get whatever they want from Russia?
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they do have a lot of well trained Dr's. They have shortages of medicines/supplies
USA and shortage of food and medicine in Cuba : The Lancet
Despite important increases in morbidity due to deteriorating living conditions and a striking decline in availability of imported medical supplies, infant, maternal, and general mortality are at their lowest rates ever.
Cuba's focus on high quality training, universal access to care, heightened vigilance for breakdowns in the social safety net, and judicious use of scarce goods shows, once again, that remarkably good health outcomes are possible if the few medical resources are put to the best use.

Most globalised drugs, as Kirkpatrick points out, are available only from US sources. More pervasively, transport and market dislocations cause increased costs for all medicines that are purchased: in Cuba this is calculated to be equivalent to a 30% surcharge than if there were no embargo
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apdst said:
Of course Obama is going to shake Castro's hand; they're fellow Conmunists. We are all aware of the millions of murders committed by the Communists.

Obama probably wispered to him, "I wish I could get away with it, too".
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Yeah, Obama should have spit on his shoe!
 
sbrettt said:
Yeah, Obama should have spit on his shoe!
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Why do you people have to take it to the extreme. He could have politely shook his hand as protocol requires and then moved briskly on. He didn't need to bow and scrape and act like he just ran into a hero that he long admired.
 
Maenad said:
I think things could have been cool if they hadn't pointed missiles at us. That is a slight breach of etiquette.
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agreed, but that was then and this is now. Eons apart in terms of the cold war/Soviet Union/Cuban client state
 
Wow... This is one of the most pathetic threads I've ever read.

For people who say liberals are the bleeding hearts, since Obama was elected, many on the right show us every days ugh threads like this who the real "bleeding hearts" are.

There is nothing so trivial, that they cannot get outraged over.
 
annata said:
we have a great system of government, run into the ground by hyperpartisan hacks.

We have a dynamic economy -for the 1%'rs, whom have gained back almost all pre-recession losses.

We have a right to strike back at terrorists, whom truely pose a threat to the US, but we wind up entagling ourselves in foreign civil wars.
( Libya/Afganistan/ Yemen to an extent)

I'm all for American exceptionalism, we can be an exceptional people. I'm not all for the idea we have to impose our standards on the rest of the world.
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I have no problem with anything you said here.
 
apdst said:
You're not aware of the custom? Don't get out much?
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Bowing when greeting someone is custom in some places too. But no, I haven't been to Saudi Arabia, that's only safe for elitists.
 
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