. August 4, 2006 SouthAmerica: Tonight when I was watching the BBC News I saw the Broadcast of the message that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sent to the Cuban people. The Cuban people are in real trouble â the Bush administration want to spread âDemocracyâ also in Cuba. The Bush administration has a real good track record in spreading democracy around the world â and they have a few countries where they can showcase their Democratic philosophy â Here is a short list of US democratic accomplishments: Iraq, Afghanistan, the Palestinian Authority on the West Bank, Lebanon, and so onâ¦. According to Condi Rice the United States is charting a new future for the Cuban people and they will have a choice of one of the following democratic paths: 1) The Iraq type of democracy â the entire country engulf itself on a nasty civil war. 2) The Lebanese type of democracy â just look at Lebanon today and you get the picture. 3) The Chilean type of democracy â you end up with a ruthless dictator and a few thousand citizens are tortured and killed. 4) The Argentinean type of democracy â you end up with a ruthless junta of generals â who also torture and kill thousands of people. 5) The Afghanistan type of democracy â democracy applies only to the capital and the rest of the country engulf itself in chaos and a civil war. If the crazy people who are running the US government today decides to invade Cuba - I donât know with what anyway since the US does not have enough troops even to send them to Iraq - I hope they are aware that Cuba has over 168 nuclear warheads in the island, a left over from the Cuban nuclear crisis of 1962, and that kind of arsenal might cause a little problem for the US forces in case of an US invasion. In case they donât know in Washington: the defense minister of Cuba is now in power temporarily until his brother recover from his operation and he understand a thing or two about a possible US invasion into his island since he has been Cubaâs defense minister for a few decades. But again there are two things that we learned not to underestimate in the last 6 years â the amount of incompetence, and arrogance of the members of the Bush administration â they have proved over and over that they can screw up anything that they do around the world. **************** âIn Broadcast to Cubans, Rice Tries to Calm Fear of Invasionâ By ANTHONY DePALMA Published: August 5, 2006 The New York Times In a televised message beamed into Cuba, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice offered the full support of the United States in a transition to democracy while promising to respect the sovereignty of the Cuban people. Carried on TV MartÃ, the government-financed service that broadcasts to Cuba from the United States, Ms. Rice tried to calm fears that Washington planned to intervene directly in Cuba in the wake of President Fidel Castroâs illness and his decision to hand off power provisionally to his brother Raúl, who is 75. âThe United States respects your aspirations as sovereign citizens,â Ms. Rice said. âAnd we will stand with you to secure your rights â to speak as you choose, to think as you please, to worship as you wish and to choose your leaders, freely and fairly, in democratic elections.â She called for release of political prisoners, restoration of fundamental rights and a transition that would quickly lead to multiparty elections. The only word about health of President Castro, 79, came yesterday from the Cuban health minister, who said he was recovering well from complicated abdominal surgery and would return to office soonâ¦. .
. August 5, 2006 SouthAmerica: Poor Cubans, if you think that life is not good under Castro and communism then just wait until the Bush administration implement their plans for democracy on your island. You guys are going to look back to the Castro years as the best years of your lives. The Bush administration major ability is to bring any country to the ground such as: the USA, Iraq, Afghanistan, or Lebanon just to mention a few examples. It does not matter if you are a capitalist, a communist, a socialist, a free market economy or anything in between â by the time the Bush administration gets through with you - you will not know which side is up. When the Bush administration starts calling for democracy on your country â you know you are in trouble - you better start running for the exits â or in your case start swimming towards another island, because these people know how to screw up things beyond your wildest imagination. If you think your communist system was bad to Cuba under Castro then just wait until the Bush crew implements their ideas of country building and democracy on your island â then will be able to taste what the word bad really means. ************ âU.S. Planning for Post-Castro Cubaâ By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press Writer AP â Associated Press - Saturday, August 5, 2006 WASHINGTON, (AP) -- The United States has big plans for Cuba once Fidel Castro is gone for good. The administration is prepared to assist a pro-democracy transition government in Cuba â assuming one materializes in the aftermath of communist rule. Just how far the administration is willing to go in support of a democratic outcome was underscored in an official document made public just three weeks before Castro, citing an intestinal ailment, relinquished power to his younger brother, Raul. The document was written by the Commission for Assistance for a Free Cuba, appointed by President Bush and chaired by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. It was a follow-up to a similar report issued two years ago. The two reports, neither of which have received much attention, focus on the tasks that the commission believes United States should address in the post-Castro era, so long as Cuban authorities are agreeable. Very little about Cuba's presumed needs escaped the commission's gaze. As the panel sees it, the administration should "assist with garbage trucks" to ensure proper trash collection and disposal and water trucks to help thirsty communities. The aid program also should provide "soap, disinfectant, and cleaning materials to vulnerable groups." In addition, Uncle Sam's envoys should be on hand to suggest options if food prices on the island spiral out of control. Obviously, the report also addresses the major issues that Cuba could confront â issues that help define a nation. It recommends U.S. help in the dissolution of Cuba's one-party system and its replacement by "a level playing field for a competitive political process." It also urges the establishment of an American training program on the principles and functioning of a free press. The administration's byword these days for Cuba is "transition," which appears almost 400 times in the more recent of the two reports, 95 pages long. In contrast, Cuban officials scoff at the notion that a transition is needed, insisting that a seamless communist "succession" from Fidel Castro will take place. But the administration sees the prospective demise of Castro, relegated to the sidelines weeks before his 80th birthday, as an opportunity that must not be squandered. Castro is, after all, the man who dealt a humiliating defeat to the United States at the Bay of Pigs, helped bring the world close to a nuclear holocaust during the 1962 missile crisis and has steadfastly opposed America's blueprint for the world for virtually all of his 47 years in power. The United States has plenty of resources to toss Cuba's way in the post-Castro era. But its record of nation building in recent years is widely considered to border on failure. Exhibit A is Iraq. Cuban officals are only too happy to draw parallels between the American experience with ousting a hostile leader in Iraq and its aspirations for Cuba. "Regime change: that's the concept that they (the Americans) have applied in Iraq," Cuban National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon said recently, implying that Washington would do no better in orchestrating a transition to democracy in Cuba. Cuba lacks the sectarian divisions that have played havoc with nation building in Iraq. What is still in question is the number of Cubans who will be willing to scuttle the current system and embrace multi-party democracy. "We need a reality check here," said Wayne Smith, America's top diplomat to Havana from 1979 to 1982. "Anyone who knows Cuba knows the Cuban people aren't going to rise up against a successor regime." Rice disagrees, telling the Cuban people Friday an address over U.S.-government run broadcast facilities: "The United States respects your aspirations as sovereign citizens, and we will stand with you to secure your rights to speak as you choose, to think as you please, to worship as you wish, and to choose your leaders freely and fairly in democratic elections," she said. .
I live in Miami. EVERY FUCKING DAY for the last FORTY FIVE YEARS Cubans have come here on rafts escaping Castro, totalitarianism and communism. They come to Bush's America. Get a clue you stupid motherfucking piece of garbage.
Unbelievable bullshit. Southamerica, do you not understand that you are living in a country with free access to information? The Castro years have been a total disaster for Cuba. Everyone here knows it. Cubans who come from Cuba tell us. Your cred is at a level with zEvader's at this point. I notice the tone of your posts is getting less 'journalistic' and more hysterical. Seems like the facade is cracking just a bit and an anti-West Zealot is beginning to show through. How nice that you can spew all this crap while enjoying life in New Jersey .
. Pabst: I live in Miami. EVERY FUCKING DAY for the last FORTY FIVE YEARS Cubans have come here on rafts escaping Castro, totalitarianism and communism. ************ August 5, 2006 SouthAmerica: You seem to hate the Cubans and Fidel Castro. If you think that the last 45 years were bad then just wait until the Bush administration starts regime change, country building and implementing their ideas of democracy in that island. It will work as well for the Cubans as it is working today in Lebanon. .
. Tradernik: Unbelievable bullshit. Southamerica, do you not understand that you are living in a country with free access to information? The Castro years have been a total disaster for Cuba. Everyone here knows it. Cubans who come from Cuba tell us. **************** August 6, 2006 SouthAmerica: I am having a little fun with you guys. Why do you care about Cuba? You said: âyou are living in a country with free access to informationâ And I enjoy it â and I believe on the freedom of the press, and both countries that are important to me â Brazil, and the USA â we enjoy the freedom of the press on both countries. We probably can make a list of 50 countries around the world that have the same problem as the Cuban people â why you are so worried about the Cuban people? They have survived almost 50 years of communism under Castro â what difference makes to most of us if they have that system in Cuba for a few more years? Americans are neurotic about a lot of stuff, and Castro is one of those things that has been stuck on a lot of conservatives throats for 5 decades. A lot of Americans â including the Bush crew â have their mentality stuck in the cold war years and Castro is one of their old boogiemen. Castro is coming and he will spread communism in the USA â you better brush up on your reading of âThe Communist manifestâ by Karl Marx. I find Castro very entertaining and he became a legend around the world. I understand he is demonized in the United States, but if he were so bad to the Cuban people, the Cubans would have got rid off him a long time ago. You donât last 50 years in power being as bad as the US mainstream media say he is. I am not going to defend the Castro regime because I am not a communist â and regime change it is the business between Castro and the people from Cuba. It does not bother me that they are communist in Cuba â that is their problem and their business and not mine. If you are such a concerned citizen then why are you so worried about Cuba? - a country that it seems to me it is in peace, has a very high literacy rate, has a terrific health and educational system for the Cuban population - considering their economic circumstances, the economic embargo and everything else. If your concern for other people is real â then you should be concerned instead about Haiti â a country that is a complete basket case by any measure. I am sure Cuba will be O.K. after Castro if the crazy Cubans from Miami give time for the system to work itself out. With love and care Cuba will became a capitalist country in due time. But if the neurotics make a lot of noise and become reckless they can make a major mess of a manageable situation. Many Americans for some reason have lost their capability to think and reason. For example: China still has a communist government and in the other hand people are investing a ton of money in China and slowly they are becoming a capitalist country â one step at the time; and Shanghai and Beijing are examples of that transformation. Cuba can follow the same path after Fidelâs death. One step at the time will take them to the Promised Land. In due time Cuba will offer great opportunities for investment in that Island. Just be patient and wait for the right time. .
Ah, I see. Just kidding, right? Okay man. As long as we know that the content of your posts can be considered an elaborate joke, no problem. Everyone needs a laugh every once in a while. All that talk about being an internationally respected journalist, savant and personal friend of current and former heads of state sort of had me thinking that you wanted us to take your posts seriously. My mistake. BTW... my reasons for caring about Cuba are not at issue. What was at issue (until you revealed that it was all just a joke) was your false claims in the original post.
. August 6, 2006 SouthAmerica: As I said a number of times on my writing over the years - many Americans for some reason have lost their capability to think and reason. (I usually got a bunch of nasty email from readers when I said that.) I have not seen this information anywhere on print or television and the US mainstream media are very slow and a number of occasions they have a problem in connecting the dots to figure something out. But here is another one for you guys to think about: It is a fact that Cuba has been armed with nuclear weapons since the nuclear crisis of 1962 â the US government never was able to find out until recently that Castro had an arsenal of about 168 nuclear warheads that he kept on his island for all these years. Look at some of the possibilities that are open to Castro today. His major financial benefactor is Hugo Chavez a person that shares with Fidelâs the same ideals. Why not sell to Hugo Chavez a few nuclear warheads in exchange for oil, money and many other things needed in the Cuban economy? The same idea applies to Castro and Iran. Why not sell to the Iranians a few nukes? Castro could get oil and also all kinds of goods and money from the Iranian government. (Castro is a communist and he does not believe on religion â even tough the Pope visited his island a few years ago. But religion is not a problem for Castro and that probably is a non-issue regarding his decision of selling a few nukes to Iran.) I wonder if the United States would be too unhappy if Venezuela and Iran had the chance to buy a few nukes from Castro. Castro is old and he probably is dying â what difference it would make to him personally? In the case of Venezuela he would be arming a good friend against his major enemy. And in the case of Iran he would also be arming someone that is being threatened by his major enemy. It would be a win, win situation for Castro â even after death he would have left behind something to antagonize his main enemy â the USA. .
. Tradernik: What was at issue (until you revealed that it was all just a joke) was your false claims in the original post. ********* August 6, 2006 SouthAmerica: O.K. I make some corrections to my false claims to make you happy. Lebanon is doing very well and democracy is blooming like a flower and everything is going according to plan in Lebanon. In Iraq democracy is working wonders for their people â they finally got peace, everybody is happy and Iraq has become a symbol of another American success story. The CIA had nothing to do with the killing of Allende in Chile in the early 1970âs â that is a lie that people put on the history books. And the US was not behind General Pinochet and that is another lie that people invented to discredit the USA. The same goes for Argentina. Afghanistan â another American success story - everything it is wonderful in Afghanistan and everybody will live happy and forever. I hope you are happy with this posting and it makes you few good about yourself. .