Today I heard the politicians all talking about Castro, the left and right wing, dems and repubs alike. Everyone was talking about now that Castro is gone, that there may be a move toward democracy. Well, this is a complete sham of course. It has nothing to do with democracy, it has to do with capitalism vs. socialism, i.e how can it help the US financially and economically. Do we not do business with that Communist country, Red China? Do we demand that the Saudis and their monarch dictatorship be a democracy? Nope. We are so bloody inconsistent in our foreign policy, it is a joke, because the consistency is not what we preach in terms of human rights and democracy...but what we can do to exploit other countries economically to feed the corporate beast... This is not about the civil rights of the Cuban people, as we ignore the abuse of human rights by the Saudis and the Red Chinese government. This is all about money, money that the US was not able to exploit out of Cuba while Castro was in power, corporations who were not able to profit from Cuba, politicians who do not get funded by locals who are invested in the middle east (think Israel's goals when it comes to Iraq) along with the oil corporations...as we know the Israel lobby doesn't give a spit about Cuba. We are slaves to capitalism and economic greed above all else, and we look like complete fools when we spout and preach democracy to the world yet ignore countries like China and Saudi Arabia and their abuse of human rights simply because they fit into our economic model. Saddam did not fit our economic objectives nor the objectives of Israel, so he was ousted. Cuba has no crude oil, didn't offer any great boon to our economy, so they didn't really matter all these years, especially after the USSR collapsed when they no longer had a big brother protecting them, we had no excuse to allow Castro to stay in power and waste all this money to remove Saddam. Now, if sugar cane were as needed and profitable as oil for the major US corporations... Hillary, Bush, McCain, and Obama...all cut from the same cloth. "Presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain demanded the release of political prisoners in Cuba after Fidel Castro announced Tuesday that he is stepping down. All three candidates also said the United States should look for ways to encourage democratic change in Cuba." http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/19/america/NA-GEN-US-Candidates-Cuba.php What horseshit...are they demanding release of political prisoners in Saudi Arabia and/or China? US corporations are now salivating about the prospect of reaping the financial reward of a more capitalistic regime in Cuba, not a more democratic regime...they are creaming their jammies hoping for more cheap labor, more buyers of US capitalism and a country to set up shop in...
Not about to disagree with that. A mcdonalds on every corner, immediate imf loans to "help" any new more democratic governance. You know, I reckon a lot of it has to do with the elite being miffed at losing their favourite tropical party ground way back when. Panama hats, cocktails , rum and cuban cigars in old havana was probably the "the" elite look in the old days, what all those moguls aspired to, then it was taken away from them by some grubby socialists. Sure, they could do all that in ecuador or barbados, but its not quite the same.
I agree that the inconsistencies in our foreign policy are troubling. Why is democracy absolutely necessary in Iraq but not in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait? Why are we fighting islamist fascism but install islamist governments in Afghanistan and Iraq and push independence for Kososvo, a muslim enclave where Christians are persecuted? Why are human rights not that important in China or Saudi Arabia but paramount in Cuba? In foreign policy, like politics, expediency usually wins out. The perfect cannot be allowed to block the good enough. We need oil from the middle east and the various rulers are preferable to what would replace them, we can't really affect China's internal policies, but we can deny Cuba the resources to export revolution throughout our backyard. If JFK hadn't lost his nerve 45 years ago, none of this would matter. Cuba would be free, and you could buy a great cuban puro for maybe $5.00. Cuba would be the jewel of the caribbean instead of a garbage dump.
We have needed oil from the middle east for how long? We have done exactly what in the past 30++ years since the oil crisis in the 70's? Bush is an oil man, and what has happened during his reign? Sadly, both parties are to blame, but the right wing are so enamored with capitalism, even when controlled by an oppressive regime or a dictator, that they look the other way as long as the payola flows. Once again we are under the thumb of oil, sealed with a kiss from the Godfather... <img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=1799527"<img> "Cuba would be free, and you could buy a great cuban puro for maybe $5.00. Cuba would be the jewel of the caribbean instead of a garbage dump." I don't believe you give a rats ass about the Cuban people or that it is not "free." If you could get cheap shit from Cuba and take cheap vacations, you wouldn't care about US corporations exploiting the Cuban people. Be honest, that's a fact. The right wingers have no problem with exploitation in the name of profit, that's capitalism at its finest in their mind. You say Cuba could be a jewel, but only when corporate America is the jeweler... Reminds me of your klannish ilk when they talked about freedom for the Iraqi people, all that crap to rationalize the Iraq war, when before 9/11 your heroes like Mann Coulter, Limfat, et. all didn't say anything about the human rights violations in that corner of the world. Look, the repubs are greedy capitalistic self centered self righteous bastids who preach Christianity and worship the devil, so at least to some extent they are consistent in their foreign policy. We see their lips moving, we know they are lying as we follow the money trail. The dems on the other hand preach human rights and at one time actually did something about it, but they are now to the point that they are allowing us to do business as usual with foreign governments that are repressive as long as their own corporate sponsors profit along the way.
Take a good look in the mirror. Why aren't you demanding release of political prisoners in Saudi Arabia and China while you're demanding the release of terrorists in Guantanamo and other detention facilities? Why are you demanding the withdrawal of the US troops from Iraq and are not demanding the withdrawal of Chinese troops from Tibet, why are you whining about executions of murderers in Texas and silent about executions of women and children in Iran, why are you constantly accusing western countries of all kinds of violations of all kinds of international laws and why are you never accusing non-western countries of crimes 1000 times more horrendous... This post is not in their defense but to demonstrate that you're as much a disenginuous and biased asshole as they are. For you to accuse others of hypocrisy and political expediency is truly rich.
Do you know what I am writing to my congressmen? Another specious false claim from do do head...empty headed nonsense. Oh, and I am on the record here unequivocally that I oppose the death penalty so your strawman about Texas is way off base. Shit do do head, I am not surprised that you are doing nothing but a drive by and attacking me personally when the topic is the politicians who have and exercise power after all, you are a supporter of Israel's violation of human rights... "This post is not in their defense but to demonstrate that you're as much a disenginuous and biased asshole as they are." 100% prime Grade AAA ad hominem... Go grind your Zionist ax somewhere else and stop taking this off topic of the politicians to one man with only one vote... Geez, you are just as much of a buffoon as all the other fools around here who carry their wounded ego on their bleeding shoulder. Get a grip, grow up, and try to stay on topic like an adult who doesn't have resentments are a foundation of their miserable human existence...
I guess El Cubano and all those other brave cubans who risked their lives to escape Castro's island paradise thought the idea of being exploited by corporations was a lot better than living under the thumb of a repressive dictator. The left in this country has been infatuated with Castro for 40 years. Of course, none of them except for the hijackers and other criminals who escaped there wanted to actually live under his rule, but they thought it was a good thing for the cuban people. That shouldn't surprise anyone. I know plenty of self-righteous liberals in Washington, DC, the kind of people who are quick to call conservatives racists and worse. Not a one of them sends their kids to public schools. When I point it out, they get angry.
Plenty of Americans, typically the angry white republican male type, have no problem with the exploitation of their fellow Americans if there is profit in it for them. Why should Cubans who fled to American to have the American "dream" be any different?
Now that's the open minded, rational AAA that we all love. Inconsistent and special interest oriented, not America oriented much of the time. Great foreign policy. c
Has Bush ever commented on the Human Rights issues in Saudi Arabia? Has he ever said a negative or critical thing about their government? Saudi Arabian men arrested for flirting Religious police: Men in T-shirts interrogated for dancing to pop music The Associated Press updated 11:17 a.m. PT, Sat., Feb. 23, 2008 RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia began interrogating 57 men Saturday who were arrested for flirting with women in front of a shopping mall in the holy city of Mecca, a local newspaper reported. The country's religious police arrested the men Thursday night for behavior that also allegedly included dancing to pop music blaring from their cars and wearing improper clothing, reported the Okaz newspaper, which is deemed close to the government. Saturday's newspaper report did not say what kind of outfits the young men were wearing, but T-shirts emblazoned with drawings or English writing are often an invitation for harassment by the religious police. Islamic radicals also consider pop music a corrupting force. The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice runs the fearsome religious police, which is charged with enforcing Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic lifestyle. Its members patrol public places to make sure women are covered and not wearing make up, the sexes don't mingle, shops close five times a day for Muslim prayers and men go to the mosque and worship. The police, informally known as the muttawa (literally "enforcer"), don't wear uniforms, but are recognizable by their long beards and their robes, shorter than the ones normally worn by Saudi men. They also shun the black cord that sits atop the headdress worn by most Saudi men. Women in Saudi Arabia are required to wear a long, enveloping black cloak called an abaya and cover their hair with a headscarf. The newspaper report said the men who were arrested Thursday could be released if they could prove they did not flirt with any women. Otherwise, they will be transferred to court and stand trial, the paper added. URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23308294/