Posted on 03/08/2009 10:33:59 AM PDT by Veto!
Lefties around the world are jumping for joy. It appears our president is so concerned that folks in Latin America don't very much like the US (when have they ever?) that he sees normalizing relations with Cuba as just the thing to get all those socialists in Latin America saying nice things about America.
THEN HE QUOTES THE GUARDIAN
The Guardian:
President Barack Obama is poised to offer an olive branch to Cuba in an effort to repair the US's tattered reputation in Latin America.
The White House has moved to ease some travel and trade restrictions as a cautious first step towards better ties with Havana, raising hopes of an eventual lifting of the four-decade-old economic embargo. Several Bush-era controls are expected to be relaxed in the run-up to next month's Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago to gild the president's regional debut and signal a new era of "Yankee" cooperation.
more at link above
That was true ten years ago. There were horror stories about Fidel confiscating stuff from foreign companies large and small. My fave was the sad tale of the Spanish company that poured millions into converting a crumbling highrise with ocean views into luxury condos. When the building was completed, Fidel nullified their contract, paid them zero, and grabbed the building for his personal use.
I don't know whether the Cuban hierarchy is still pulling stuff like this. Maybe with the heavy Chinese influence there now, they're being more subtle. The Chinese are nothing if not subtle.
Gee, the Guardian, a Trotskyite rag worries that we are not liked in Latin America. About the only place we are liked in this world is Eastern Europe, a region the Guardian would like to see revert to Russian control.
That offer has been on the table, untouched, for a looooong time.
Yes, but it being the crappy little country will be blamed on America and it’s 40 years of embargo’s. If America was just nice it would have been a paradise. /s
Suppose that the Cubans have by now had a belly full of collectivism and that, with the death of Castro and his brother, they embrace good ol' free market capitalism (or at least something markedly more capitalistic than what the US is moving towards). If this happens then there would be an explosion of opportunity in Cuba, and with its tropical climate Cuba would become a retirement mecca for US citizens.
While Cuba would be on the way up to capitalism, it would pass America as it descends down into socialism. This would represent some very powerful potential opportunity.
For the common man, however, there is a need to get in on the ground floor...and this is where (for once) Obama's cozying up to Castro could play right into the hands of capitalists.
I've had some good experience doing business in Latin America, and intend to be ready to establish a foothold in Cuba at the first opportune moment if it comes about. Maybe it will be as humble as starting a sandwich shop, but if the door opens I'll be trying my best to scramble in.
So, I say let Obama suck up to Castro, and let them learn the law of unintended consequences!
When Sinatra died, someone said, “He’s gone to be with Sammy.” That became a little phrase to signify someone’s passing. “Did you hear about Dennis Yost? He’s gone to meet Sammy.”
This headline sounds like the mob version of that. “Get ready to shake hands with Fidel, you mug.”
Especially worrisome: A key focus for discussions during the People’s Summit will be the economic meltdown hitting the capitalist system, and the opening that this provides for the implementation of a peoples’ agenda promoting sustainable development, social justice, equity, and peaceful coexistence.[ie, communism/socialism -etl]
Zer0 and Mrs. Less-than-Zer0 will flounce down the gangplank to a coronation as King and Queen of "The Americas." Disturbing, even terrifying image.
The crappy little country trades with every other country in the world. Fidel banks the bucks in Switzerland or wherever Forbes Magazine found his billions and tells Cubans they’re starving because of the USA. They don’t all believe him, thank goodness.
There will be. And I'd move there. If I were an attorney I'd be brushing up my Spanish and keeping a bag packed to race down there. There are plenty of Americans there now forging contacts--at least there were ten years ago during the Clinton years when they really didn't care whether we visited.
But the fly in the ointment is communism. Fidel would never give it up; Raul may or may not. 0bama loves it. So those stolen properties will always be an issue until some sort of reparations are made.
I believe a change in the way we do business with Cuba is probably in order. But, offering them an olive branch implies that we need to make amends for something. How about just laying out on the table what we are willing to do and see if they bite.
Trouble is, they will.
Other problem is, Ibn al '0bama will concede South Florida to them, the commie creep.
I like that scenario. Like a tropical Eastern Europe. My parents live down in Naples, maybe if the going gets tough here we can strap a couple pontoons to their Rendezvous and drive there, LOL!
Fidel’s so old his hand shakes by itself.
More importantly, Obama is an egotist blinded by his own charm. He thinks that if he gets someone in a room, he can charm them and work out a presentable deal. He’s a fool in this regard, although he’s quite talented in destructive organizational machinations.
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