He was quite a character. I got a book he wrote on his adventures as a sub hunter using his private yacht operating out of Havana and the US in the Caribbean and the Gulf. The US Navy outfitted his yacht with special radios and a couple of Ma Duce. The Navy did this to a number of yachts until the Navy could get enough sub chasers built. I don't know what the heck he would have done if he found a sub. He also check bays and keys for saboteurs.
there's nuthin' wrong with shipping a few chickens to them from jawja. and meanwhile, i'm pretty sure delta might like to fly a few touristers in to their beaches for a three-day weekend every now and then.
i have heard that too eyeball. plenty of us touristers too, but they didn't fly there straight. canada has been picking up the lion's share, and europeans.
a few nice resorts and hotels with American names on the beaches can't be all bad.
We proved our point and proved it for 50 years. In 10 years both of the Castro brothers will be a bad dream. I'm not happy it's Obama who made the first move but it was going to happen someday soon. The Castro's are communists and Obama is a socialist. It's a thin line between the two and birds of a feather think alike.
I think that the normalization of relations with Cuba would end up being a non event.
In 10 years it would be a resort and the politics, while probably never being a western republic, would just evolve into the same thing governments are pretty much everywhere.
The Castro bunch is old and tired and the people have had enough of living in poverty.
Allow a bit of a standard of living to take root down there and it would probably be about as stable as any place in the western hemisphere.
Basically, it would just turn into an extension of the Florida Keys,...which is more or less what it was once upon a time.
I think that the normalization of relations with Cuba would end up being a non event.
In 10 years it would be a resort and the politics, while probably never being a western republic, would just evolve into the same thing governments are pretty much everywhere.
The Castro bunch is old and tired and the people have had enough of living in poverty.
Allow a bit of a standard of living to take root down there and it would probably be about as stable as any place in the western hemisphere.
Basically, it would just turn into an extension of the Florida Keys,...which is more or less what it was once upon a time.
This.
If done right - could be Vegas with a beach which given the choice between the two - give me the beach 100/100 times.
I see people say that the Castros would get everything as that the government would own all and take ninety percent of their salaries. Forgive me if I say bullschit and contend that such an arrangement would not last long. The Cubans, after all, are not a bunch of weak willed Americans. They HAVE actually had a revolution within living memory and I suspect that they would find the prospect of being unable to share in great wealth a much more objectionable prospect than sharing in great poverty as they do now. The Cuban government would be forced to share the wealth or go away.
Like I said, it never ceases to amaze me. The same people who on this board claim to be the biggest conservatives and anti-communists seem to have no faith in free enterprise and capitalism in a place like Cuba. They must feel as though Cubans have some sort of gene that exempts them from responding to market forces or economic self interests.
Other things have helped change my mind. R.J. Rummel of the University of Hawaii calculates that in the twentieth century alone, states murdered about 162,000,000 of their own subjects. This figure doesn�t include the tens of millions of foreigners they killed in war.
...I suspect that they would find the prospect of being unable to share in great wealth a much more objectionable prospect than sharing in great poverty as they do now....
Fidel Castro has an estimated net worth of $900 million. It doesn't look like they've objected to it too much so far.
We don't need to make the same mistakes we've made in the past with regard to nation building. We americans tend to think that all the locals need is a helping hand and they'll rise up and do the rest. That's naive and foolish, see where it got us in Afghanistan and Iraq. Nobody in Cuba is going to stand up to Fidel and Raul as long as they're alive, and their successors are likely to be just as brutal. The gene that allows them to respond to market forces or economic self interests tends to get trumped by the gene that doesn't want a bullet to the back of the head.
...I suspect that they would find the prospect of being unable to share in great wealth a much more objectionable prospect than sharing in great poverty as they do now....
Fidel Castro has an estimated net worth of $900 million. It doesn't look like they've objected to it too much so far.
We don't need to make the same mistakes we've made in the past with regard to nation building. We americans tend to think that all the locals need is a helping hand and they'll rise up and do the rest. That's naive and foolish, see where it got us in Afghanistan and Iraq. Nobody in Cuba is going to stand up to Fidel and Raul as long as they're alive, and their successors are likely to be just as brutal. The gene that allows them to respond to market forces or economic self interests tends to get trumped by the gene that doesn't want a bullet to the back of the head.
Has Fidel built ten miles of luxury hotels teaming with tourist from America? No, he has not. That kind of wealth is hard to ignore. And frankly, 900 million is relatively modest for a dictator. He is a relative pauper compared to dozens if not hundreds of US businessmen.
Has Fidel built ten miles of luxury hotels teaming with tourist from America? No, he has not. That kind of wealth is hard to ignore. And frankly, 900 million is relatively modest for a dictator. He is a relative pauper compared to dozens if not hundreds of US businessmen.
No, but Batista did and it didn't do him any good, they opted for communism anyway. Cubans have known nothing but communism for 50 years, the generation that remembers a time before communism is dead and buried for the most part. The ones with an entrepreneurial spirit floated on a raft to Florida. The rulers that succeed the Castros are not going to give up absolute power easily. $900 million may not be much to a U.S. business magnate, but it'll go a long ways towards living a life of extreme luxury in Cuba. It goes to show that just like every with other communist despot throughout history, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" only applies to others, not themselves.
Has Fidel built ten miles of luxury hotels teaming with tourist from America? No, he has not. That kind of wealth is hard to ignore. And frankly, 900 million is relatively modest for a dictator. He is a relative pauper compared to dozens if not hundreds of US businessmen.
No, but Batista did and it didn't do him any good, they opted for communism anyway. Cubans have known nothing but communism for 50 years, the generation that remembers a time before communism is dead and buried for the most part. The ones with an entrepreneurial spirit floated on a raft to Florida. The rulers that succeed the Castros are not going to give up absolute power easily. $900 million may not be much to a U.S. business magnate, but it'll go a long ways towards living a life of extreme luxury in Cuba. It goes to show that just like every with other communist despot throughout history, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" only applies to others, not themselves.
Other things have helped change my mind. R.J. Rummel of the University of Hawaii calculates that in the twentieth century alone, states murdered about 162,000,000 of their own subjects. This figure doesn�t include the tens of millions of foreigners they killed in war.
So,,, your OK with getting bent over every time we make a trade and having a president that acts like an emperor just because of what some bleeding heart professor says.
. So,,, your OK with getting bent over every time we make a trade and having a president that acts like an emperor just because of what some bleeding heart professor says.
Doesn't surprise me.
How does normalizing relations with Cuba "bend me over"?
Other things have helped change my mind. R.J. Rummel of the University of Hawaii calculates that in the twentieth century alone, states murdered about 162,000,000 of their own subjects. This figure doesn�t include the tens of millions of foreigners they killed in war.
So,,, your OK with getting bent over every time we make a trade and having a president that acts like an emperor just because of what some bleeding heart professor says.
Doesn't surprise me.
How does opening up a country so that our godless corporations can go down there and rape the schit out it and cover it with swarms of pasty white New Jersyites equate to getting "bent over"?
I hope we normalize relations with them. They are so poor. We had a pastor from Cuba come to visit us at our church two yrs ago and this year. He said they are more starved for the word of God more than anything. They make $20 a month so we give them a pair of shoes from Walmart. They work a month for that, we work 1 hr. He said how he could get the gospel to his country since the government does not allow any press or paper in or out of the country. The bible is forbiden on paper. We as a church decided kindles were the best way to go. We have given about 1,000 kindles so far. They don't recognize kindles as the press. There is such a hunger for the gospel they are pleading with the government for freedom of religion. The government is doing a lot to discourage them so they pass laws accordingly. One of the laws is a pastors have to have training and a minimum of a bachellors degree to be a pastor. SO, we loaded kindles up with the gospel and all the books to be able to graduate with a bachelors degree with an Assembly of God church credentals. Now there are pastors starting churches funded by the Assembly of God church. My pastor was down in Cuba this year . He was doing messages at several churches. Government agents are not far off though. Christian faith is going to explode there and most likely the fuse is already lit. Here is the real kicker. The Cubans are so on fire for God they believe Cuba will be the evangelical nation of the world. Our pastor snickered a bit. Think this is insane talk???? We believe this is Gods plan and here is why. God is way ahead of us. God is using Cubans to go to communist countries Because Cuba is communist. They can go where Americans can't step foot into. When my pastor was at a restaurant there were some Americans. They asked how the heck he got into Cuba. Pastor said Miami, with a pastors visa. They said they had to come through Mexico and they were investors. He was puzzled, and explained it is just a matter of time and then comes Coca Cola, Mariot and Mcdonalds, but they assured him it's coming. So it most likely is already in the making. ANd if Castro makes money off it, I don't care. He will have plenty of time to count it in hell and what Satan uses for evil, God uses it for good, even money and communism. So here we are in the last days, the time is coming, the fruit is ripe when Gods promise is complete. Every ear will hear the gospel.
I didn't know anything about the situation until recently but it doesn't look bad for exports.
Wheat growers in the Midwest expect new export opportunities since Cuba now buys nearly all its wheat from Canada and Europe. Cuba hasn't bought U.S. wheat since 2011, but could import at least 500,000 metric tons of it annually, according to the National Association of Wheat Growers.
"If Cuba resumes purchases of U.S. wheat, we believe our market share there could grow from its current level of zero to around 80-90 percent, as it is in other Caribbean nations," Alan Tracy, president of U.S. Wheat Associates, said in a statement.
I think that the normalization of relations with Cuba would end up being a non event.
In 10 years it would be a resort and the politics, while probably never being a western republic, would just evolve into the same thing governments are pretty much everywhere.
The Castro bunch is old and tired and the people have had enough of living in poverty.
Allow a bit of a standard of living to take root down there and it would probably be about as stable as any place in the western hemisphere.
Basically, it would just turn into an extension of the Florida Keys,...which is more or less what it was once upon a time.
This.
If done right - could be Vegas with a beach which given the choice between the two - give me the beach 100/100 times.
Its already a popular holiday destination for Europeans and Brits..I would say now is the time to visit before it is turned into another Las Vegas..I've not been myself, but a couple of people in work have and they loved the place in part because it still has the 1950's feel to it..