Posted on 07/17/2017 6:28:40 AM PDT by Ennis85
If someone would have told me a month ago that I'd spend my recent trip to Cuba obsessing over a missile crisis I would have told them I'm not that kind of historian. But there I was in Old Havana in early July, thinking about whether another missile crisis half way around the globe would lead to the world war that was so narrowly averted here five decades ago.
Of course the missiles in question today are in North Korea, not in Cuba. But the fact that 55 years after the Cuban Missile Crisis and over a generation removed from the fall of the Berlin Wall, Cuba and the United States remain embroiled in conflicts deeply rooted in Cold War politics and mentalities says a lot about the similar state of both societies and the divergent paths on which they are traveling.
Indeed, in many ways travelling through Cuba today is like entering a kind of nexus connecting the past to the future, a continuum also inhabited by Trump's America. On the one hand, Trump's America seems determined to pursue isolationism and return to a mythical past where America was Great and everyone else, whether blacks at home or small island nations abroad, knew their place.
Trump's Americans would, in fact, love Cuba in this regard. With its innumerable carefully preserved 1950s cars and love of baseball and cigars, one can vaguely recall the sensation of what it must have been like before Castro, when Americans, from tourists to corporate titans to the mob, had free reign across the island.
But Cubans, while still ostensibly stuck in a time warp thanks to half a century of American embargo, are clearly pushing in the opposite direction,
(Excerpt) Read more at aljazeera.com ...
“thanks to half a century of American embargo,”
Wrong. Other countries have no embargo with Cuba. Goods can come and go.
Cubans are poor and have no opportunities because the regime is communist and punishes effort and rewards conformity with communist goals.
When you’re at rock bottom, the only way to go is up.
“But Cubans, while still ostensibly stuck in a time warp thanks to half a century of American embargo...”
A statement of such massive stupidity that it defies reason.
What a crock! On the one hand liberalization has helped improve life and incomes, but only for whites. On the other hand, free markets will destroy Cuba. Talk a disconnect. Leftist pretzel logic leads to continent-sized distortions.
And the author worries that opening up Cuba will bring poverty? Is he kidding? The whole island is submerged in widespread poverty — after once have one of the highest standards of living before Fidel Castro.
Hope springs eternal!
The rapid recovery of West Germany following the discarding of price and production controls following WWII, is called the German Miracle. No. It’s wasn’t a miracle. That’s what you should expect.
A miracle would have been if East Germany, continuing with state control of the economy, would have enjoyed rapid recovery.
It’s not a miracle that water flows down. Oh, look, the miracle of the Mississippi River. It’s flowing from high to low altitudes. It would be a miracle if the Mississippi flowed uphill.
So, let’s look at the Dominican Republic. A roughly free market economy with a decent enough government. It’s economy is rapidly developing. Do progressive socialists organize field trips to this tropical island country? Of course not. They don’t want to see how capitalism can and actual does transform countries. They long for the socialist miracle.
Today, millions of Americans are choosing to retire in Costa Rico and in Panama. Countries that had gotten their act together. But, who would want to reture in Nicaragua?
Peru and Colombia are doing fine, in spite of the many challenges they face, including narco-terrorists and FALN. But, what about Venezuela? Is water flowing upstream in that socialist country?
Now, let me let you into a little secret about socialism. With socialism, the people are so poor, they will sell their boys and girls for ration coupons. Cheap access to boys and girls is one of the reasons the progressive socialists like to travel to the worker paradises of the world. Also, the prisons are full of slave workers. And, many of these slave workers are sold in international markets.
“But Cubans, while still ostensibly stuck in a time warp thanks to half a century of American embargo...”
And as usual, the left manufactures its own reality regarding Cuba because its a glaring example of the failure of Socialism/Communism right on our doorstep.
LIES are the hallmark of communism and its radical left.
I recently got back from my 4th mission trip to Cuba. Just as you leave the airport, so all the tourist can see it, there is a huge propaganda billboard about the embargo.
As our team discussed it our translator (A Cuban we have worked with many times and a good friend) said that the real embargo was ON the Island. He then explain how lack of freedom and the government's red tape was the real oppression.
Complete extortion ...
Every passenger on every cruise chip that just docks in Havana is extorted out of a one-time $80 visa fee, even if they never leave the ship.
For those of us that live in the Tampa area, this Cuba port has seen every reasonable cruise fares go sky high. THREE TIMES what it cost last year to sail anywhere in the Caribbean now.
In recent decades one could sail from any Florida or Gulf port to every single Caribbean port without even a passport. The one thorn in the side of Caribbean cruising this year is that the ships are hitting Cuba with almost 50% stopping there. You can go everywhere else with just a birth certificate, but not when the ship has Havana on the itinerary.
Cursed.
There are some nice cars but most are poorly done, 90% bondo, and blow more smoke than a mosquito fogger due to the fact that the engine came from a late 80’ Soviet Lada.
But Cubans, while still ostensibly stuck in a time warp thanks to half a century of American embargo...”
And as usual, the left manufactures its own reality regarding Cuba because its a glaring example of the failure of Socialism/Communism right on our doorstep.
I always wonder about this.
If communism/socialism is really a superior system of organizing society and the economy, then why would the Cuban people be so poor, grappling with poverty??
If capitalism is so inherently “evil” or “unfair”, then why would Cuba suffer to a trade embargo by the United States??
If communism is a superior system, why would a communist country such as Cuba, need trade with an evil country such as America, in order to have economic prosperity in their own country??
Of COURSE that is the real reason, but that never prevents Lefties from blaming the US.
Yep.
Consider the source. What would one expect from Al-Jizz?
Cuba is like most Arab countries with no oil, Cuba created its problems by rejecting Capitalism and now they can live with it
Ha ha ha ha go away lying muslim animal person. You are embarrassing yourself and all of lyingmuslimanimalkind.
Several years ago the biggest story out of Cuba was that Fidel had issued new rice cookers to everyone in the country.
That is how poor they are.
Iirc Cuba at the time of Batista had the sixth highest living standard in the world. Now? Way down the list. Except for Fidel and Raul.
Yes roughly the same as Canada if I remember it right.
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