usa frees cuban political prisoners

[dMog]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/world/americas/us-frees-last-of-the-cuban-five-part-of-a-1990s-spy-ring-.html?rref=world/americas&module=Ribbon&version=context&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Americas&pgtype=article

usa to also open Embassy in Havana and end the embargo

[VileTouch]

they have made it just fine for 51 years so far, i don't see how keeping it up benefit anyone at this point.

[dMog]

never understood the embargo after the crisis was over...or after the russians left...it only opened the door for the chineese to enter latin america in huge way

[Ballistic Gelatin]

Obama’s actions do absolutely nothing to advance the right to freedom that has long been denied the Cuban people. Didn’t he “get the memo” that the co-dictatorship of Fidel and Raul Castro is still in place? Obviously not.

The president’s claim that the embargo has kept its citizens poor and shackled to the island is baseless. It’s Cuba’s repressive regime that has prevented its people from exercising rights available under a true democracy and enjoying the benefits of a capitalist society. And Cuba’s reliance on Venezuela’s free-flowing financial largesse will no longer suffice due to the dramatic drop in oil prices.

Furthermore, the Helms-Burton Act of 1996 empowers Congress to override any action taken by Obama to lift the embargo. The 2015 Congress will likely invoke the provisions of the Act and withhold funding of a new embassy and the appointment of an ambassador.

Bottom line: Don’t expect to be puffing any Cuban cigars legally in the U.S. anytime soon.

[gipsy]

Bottom line: Don’t expect to be puffing any Cuban cigars legally in the U.S. anytime soon

not a big problem,smoke Dominicana's or Manila's.used to be a big Cuban's cigar fan (Cohiba ,Romeo & Julieta mostly) but now cuban's money greed (hv a friend from Cuba who bringin' me a cigars ) is too much .not long ago for "Romeo y Julieta" box (25 semicoronas) i paid 50 $US :D and now is approx in 4 time more.

Famous Caribbean bordel is open! Welcome! buck won.

[Ballistic Gelatin]

Bottom line: Don’t expect to be puffing any Cuban cigars legally in the U.S. anytime soon

not a big problem,smoke Dominicana's or Manila's.used to be a big Cuban's cigar fan (Cohiba ,Romeo & Julieta mostly) but now cuban's money greed (hv a friend from Cuba who bringin' me a cigars ) is too much .not long ago for "Romeo y Julieta" box (25 semicoronas) i paid 50 $US :D and now is approx in 4 time more.

Famous Caribbean bordel is open! Welcome! buck won.

Cohiba has always been my favorite brand.

[gipsy]

Bottom line: Don’t expect to be puffing any Cuban cigars legally in the U.S. anytime soon

not a big problem,smoke Dominicana's or Manila's.used to be a big Cuban's cigar fan (Cohiba ,Romeo & Julieta mostly) but now cuban's money greed (hv a friend from Cuba who bringin' me a cigars ) is too much .not long ago for "Romeo y Julieta" box (25 semicoronas) i paid 50 $US :D and now is approx in 4 time more.

Famous Caribbean bordel is open! Welcome! buck won.

Cohiba has always been my favorite brand.

hope FBI don't visit nsane :D

btw.Cuban Cohiba is favorite brand of Fidel Castro too.

random fact-Cohiba is produsin' in Dominicana too (registered & legal in USA)

[dMog]

Obama’s actions do absolutely nothing to advance the right to freedom that has long been denied the Cuban people. Didn’t he “get the memo” that the co-dictatorship of Fidel and Raul Castro is still in place? Obviously not.

The president’s claim that the embargo has kept its citizens poor and shackled to the island is baseless. It’s Cuba’s repressive regime that has prevented its people from exercising rights available under a true democracy and enjoying the benefits of a capitalist society. And Cuba’s reliance on Venezuela’s free-flowing financial largesse will no longer suffice due to the dramatic drop in oil prices.

Furthermore, the Helms-Burton Act of 1996 empowers Congress to override any action taken by Obama to lift the embargo. The 2015 Congress will likely invoke the provisions of the Act and withhold funding of a new embassy and the appointment of an ambassador.

Bottom line: Don’t expect to be puffing any Cuban cigars legally in the U.S. anytime soon.

china has the worst human rights record ever seen... and america has most favored nation for that country...why not cuba... have you been there to cuba..i have been there dozens of times and can confidently say from waht i have seen that you cannot blindly make a statement that the embargo has not hurt the average cuban...it has devastated that countries average citizen for about 60 years now and has done absolutely nothing to hurt the castro regime

edit spelling

[nIGHT]

My aunt, a canadian citizen, just went there early this year.

Spent almost a month with the local folks talking about how life been like there and their foods.

The people where my aunt and her friends stayed were very warm and entertaining. It's like their family.

She told my mother cuba is self sufficient.

They got an amazing health care that is almost free.

Almost free since they have to let you pay less than a peso just to keep your dignity, amazing!

Too late for such offer from the USA.

This kind of deal only benefits one side and that is USA.

[dMog]

My aunt, a canadian citizen, just went there early this year.

Spent almost a month with the local folks talking about how life been like there and their foods.

The people where my aunt and her friends stayed were very warm and entertaining. It's like their family.

She told my mother cuba is self sufficient.

They got an amazing health care that is almost free.

Almost free since they have to let you pay less than a peso just to keep your dignity, amazing!

Too late for such offer from the USA.

This kind of deal only benefits one side and that is USA.

yes they have amazing health care...and it is free...but i can tell from 1st hand experience.... as my wife spent 4 days in the hospital in Moron Cuba... she almost died, but that is another story.... even though it is free and the doctors and nurses are well educated and well trained...the infrastructure is falling apart... that and i saw first hand how long people had to wait for care... sometimes they had to stand in line all day long to wait for X ray...pre-natal care was no different ... literally well over 150 pregnant women waiting outside the hospital just to get into the waiting line inside the hospital to see the doctors...Doctors quitting their jobs as doctors because they could work in a hotel as bartenders to gain a windfall in tips as compared to their salary as doctor.... i could go on and on.... but i will dd i never saw anyone unhappy...i never saw anyone complain about their lot in life ...the one i know is true in Cuba that although they truly want to be friends with America they also see America as a threat and it will take much more than embassies opening in each others countries to dispel that feeling or prove it to be false...by the way you Americans...as i said ...my wife almost died and the total bill for her hospital stay was 69 dollars...yes...69 dollars NOT 69 thousand dollars...and the doctor was embarrassed to ask for the cash because the government had recently said tourists had to pay for hospital stays out of their own pocket or get their insurance to pay as it was taxing their system too much to pay for all tourists to have free access

[VileTouch]

Doctors quitting their jobs as doctors because they could work in a hotel as bartenders to gain a windfall in tips as compared to their salary as doctor.... i could go on and on....

no, being a doctor is a labor of love. a calling if you may. sure you can earn more as a prostitute than as a doctor, but that is a personal choice about where their priorities lay.

there's no blaming society, or the government (however bad it may be) ,infrastructure or whatnot. you want to be a hooker because deep inside you ARE a hooker.

two diferent lines of thinking.

[dMog]

what the hell did hookers get in this mix...bartenders area far cry from a hooker...and as i said...i have been to Cuba dozens of times and have made life long friends there...i think i know from first hand experience and more about what i am saying than someone who has never been to Cuba and is injecting hookers into this discussion for god knows what point to be made and all about a place he knows nothing about, has never been to and for what point you are trying to make ...who knows...i agree quite a lot with quite a few of your posts but this one i gotta disagree...don't be too upset with me :)

[VileTouch]

what the hell did hookers get in this mix...bartenders area far cry from a hooker...and as i said...i have been to Cuba dozens of times and have made life long friends there...i think i know from first hand experience and more about what i am saying than someone who has never been to Cuba and is injecting hookers into this discussion for god knows what point to be made and all about a place he knows nothing about, has never been to and for what point you are trying to make ...who knows...i agree quite a lot with quite a few of your posts but this one i gotta disagree...don't be too upset with me :)

sure, lots of people have been to cuba. (and i'm not about to reveal anything about me if you were expecting that) in this context please define hooker as someone whose leitmotiv is monetary gain and have no moral qualms in doing anything to that end.

indeed hookers have nothing to do with barternders...usually

the gist of my post is that cuba's society has also been touched by the current western world trend of "lots o cash no matter where it comes from" where it's a rare ocurrence to see someone with a firm vocation. probably learned from the gusanos returning from the US

thing is, since education is free in Cuba, this gold digger,bartender or bouncer might have one or more PhD under their belt. (scary thought)

[dMog]

or it could simply be economics...a bartender makes about 500 times more money that a doctor does in cuba...all because bartenders can get tips...doctors can only get the monthly food ration allowances and salary.... that is not only minuscule in actual value but a joke compared to what western doctors make

[VileTouch]

or it could simply be economics...a bartender makes about 500 times more money that a doctor does in cuba...all because bartenders can get tips...doctors can only get the monthly food ration allowances and salary.... that is not only minuscule in actual value but a joke compared to what western doctors make

which goes back to what i said initially. one does not become a doctor because of the money. besides their reality is not the same as a doctor in...canada for instance. because education is free, food rations are free, housing is free, etc. are they limited? of course!, just as everyone else is.. except those who work in tourism and get tips in foreign currencies and get a taste of the rest of the world's consummerism.

[nIGHT]

My aunt, a canadian citizen, just went there early this year.

Spent almost a month with the local folks talking about how life been like there and their foods.

The people where my aunt and her friends stayed were very warm and entertaining. It's like their family.

She told my mother cuba is self sufficient.

They got an amazing health care that is almost free.

Almost free since they have to let you pay less than a peso just to keep your dignity, amazing!

Too late for such offer from the USA.

This kind of deal only benefits one side and that is USA.

yes they have amazing health care...and it is free...but i can tell from 1st hand experience.... as my wife spent 4 days in the hospital in Moron Cuba... she almost died, but that is another story.... even though it is free and the doctors and nurses are well educated and well trained...the infrastructure is falling apart... that and i saw first hand how long people had to wait for care... sometimes they had to stand in line all day long to wait for X ray...pre-natal care was no different ... literally well over 150 pregnant women waiting outside the hospital just to get into the waiting line inside the hospital to see the doctors...Doctors quitting their jobs as doctors because they could work in a hotel as bartenders to gain a windfall in tips as compared to their salary as doctor.... i could go on and on.... but i will dd i never saw anyone unhappy...i never saw anyone complain about their lot in life ...the one i know is true in Cuba that although they truly want to be friends with America they also see America as a threat and it will take much more than embassies opening in each others countries to dispel that feeling or prove it to be false...by the way you Americans...as i said ...my wife almost died and the total bill for her hospital stay was 69 dollars...yes...69 dollars NOT 69 thousand dollars...and the doctor was embarrassed to ask for the cash because the government had recently said tourists had to pay for hospital stays out of their own pocket or get their insurance to pay as it was taxing their system too much to pay for all tourists to have free access

I believe you and so those who have first hand experience there.

Mine is second hand info. :mellow:

or it could simply be economics...a bartender makes about 500 times more money that a doctor does in cuba...all because bartenders can get tips...doctors can only get the monthly food ration allowances and salary.... that is not only minuscule in actual value but a joke compared to what western doctors make

which goes back to what i said initially. one does not become a doctor because of the money. besides their reality is not the same as a doctor in...canada for instance. because education is free, food rations are free, housing is free, etc. are they limited? of course!, just as everyone else is.. except those who work in tourism and get tips in foreign currencies and get a taste of the rest of the world's consummerism.

Both you and dMog made good points but both have different perspective on the matter.

Sooner or later Cuba has to open to the world like Spain did and let's hope they won't get corrupted by economics. :(

[steven36]

The point is Cuba dont have nothing to offer the rest of the world but some stinking Cigars and some RUM , So by no means would this be in the USA agenda to make peace with Cuba for cigars. Most likely there trying to prevent another bay of pigs like the 1950s is all because of Russia saying there going start flying planes near the USA. But how do the USA know they can trust them to not do it again ? Because thats the reason the USA broke all ties with Cuba to began with . Cuba done it to themselves by allowing Russia to bring there ships there and JFK having to scare them off . JFK was fixing to blow Cuba off the map.