it looks as though we are normalizing relations with cuba. we have as a trading partner viet nam, and they have a communist government, as does china and look at the trade we do with them.

Obama maybe should have asked the Cuban government to loosen the governments hold on the Cuban people, as a condition for normal relations. what do you think of this matter?

I think that you deliberately start the most politically divisive threads. But that's neither here nor there .

But seriously, the trade embargo should have been lifted years ago. But the way Obama is going about it is a slap in the face to every Cuban who ever jumped off a raft in the Florida Straits. Surprise, surprise. Right?

But this might actually be good for the Republicans because it gives Rubio a serious national platform now. He can really shine here and position himself for 2016 if he plays his cards right.

yeah, pb I can see your reasoning, the Cubans in florida are against it. it had to happen.. sooner or later, and Rubio could very well be a wild card.

Binnie, IMO this was nothing more than a prisoner exchange. A very poor one but still a prisoner exchange. There are suppose to be like 50 American criminals there who are living in exile. Why didn't we get any of these people for the 5 spies. I don't think anything will come out of his.

Keep in mind that the President has only proposed normalizing diplomatic relations with Cuba; it hasn't happened yet. If that does happen, normalizing trade relations could follow. US food producers do business with Cuba. However, the exchange of money must be handled through a third party financial institution which encumbers that business. Lifting the third party requirement and the cash requirement will make it alot easier.

Also keep in mind that relations with any country are complicated and there is alot we don't know.

well, you certainly got a point. about the prisoner exchange, that took second billing in the press, let's see what happens here, a lot of people will be very down, if it comes to what you suspicion.

Let me preference this with the fact i think it should have been lifted a decade ago. But this deal seems odd on several fronts. We got essentially zero concessions and essentially gave away all our leverage. The castro brothers are among the most wretched, vile regimes in human histroy. We should have got concession for concession with these scumbags including freeing political prisoners, giving up criminals and mariginal political reforms. They need us more than we need them. These guys were in a rough spot. Venezuela, cubas chief supporter, is near bankruptcy with oil prices and hyperinflation. We gave them a second life.

I will not even get into rewarding these guys for keeping american hostages.

It does seem Raul Castro is not as hostile (as a leader that is) as Fidel was, I really think he wants to get Cuba into a tourist hot spot again eventually. He doesn't seem like the guerrilla leader that Fidel was.

But you just never know with those fools. Who would have thought we'd still be fussing with Russia and talking to Cuba?

I do agree Obama slapped every Cuban in the fact that faced those Florida Straits (which is no damn joke in a fucking raft) like PB said. I still remember when the Cubans rioted here in the Federal Pen and took 10 correction officers as hostages because they were part of the Mariel (sp?) boat lift of the 80's and were being deported. Luckily nobody died.

I worked for a contractor one time that was Cuban. He started a multi billion dollar company out of Miami and was a Cuban refugee. The story stunk, but the fact remains his kids still run it today. They lead the lists of specialty contractors in the U.S. today doing road work, telecommunications and even line work and I hate every one of them

Google Mastec and you'll see just how big they are.

so obama is the president that slapped the cubans in the face?

do you believe any of this shit that you type?

I agree PB that it is a slap in the face to the Cubans already here but he and the Demobrats dont care about that because they don't view Cubans as "true Hispanics", in other words they don't vote Democrat...either legally or illegally. I don't have a problem with lifting the embargo, but the problem is that he did it with no preconditions whatsoever...as usual.

Yup.


Do you even know what a trade embargo is, Cook?

It must be getting cold in Chicago given the time of year. Why don't you bundle up real tight, put on a hoodie, and go out and buy yourself a bag of Skittles.

^^^^^

you're sick with racism.........god don't like ugly

you'll get into heaven with hoodies and skittles before u will being a blatant racist

you're sick with public assistance money and EBT cards.

You are a failure for a reason, cook. Just be thankful that folks like pizza, italianforever and I go to work everyday so you can remain on the couch, receive public assistance and write sub-70 IQ posts.

You're being far too generous.

OK, you both were warned about this shit. You want to continue, despite requests to stop. So go and kill each other OFF THE BOARDS. If either of you survive until New Year's you can come back and we'll see how you proceed then.

It's your own fault and your own doing.

How would we America make money from doing business with Cuba?

Thats the question that needs to be answered before we start doing business in Cuba.

Investing in Casino's and making cuba a wide open place for all the vices we love so much. But didn't we do that already?

It is obvious Cuba would make a lot of money through tourism and the other vices. How are we going to get our end of that?

I mentioned before that sugar cane can be a source to run cars. Brazil has sugar cane and they have car that get crazy good mileage.

Our AUTO industry put a stop on the idea of getting Brazil run sugar cane cars.

I think it's more along the lines of stabilizing the relationship with a communist government that is less than a hundred miles from our border, before Russia can entertain them about continuing to be our enemy. Plus I think Raul is not as hardlined as his brother was and is out to make his country more profitable instead of living in the shadows of the US with the continuing "you communist, me democratic" caveman enemy thinking.

Sugar Cane farmers in Louisiana are not too happy about opening relations with Cuba, in the past twenty years agriculture has drifted from Rice fields to Sugarcane fields down here.

Yep if we open things up with Cuba you better believe they'll go broke down there because it would be cheaper to get surgarcane in Cuba than in Louisiana. And I agree with you on Raul too, he seems 10x smarter than Fidel in terms of trying to bring money into his country. I'm sure he is just as dangerous as he used to be when he was 2nd in command, but he now knows to be more quiet with that crap and make himself look less hostile.



To be fair SC, once again it all started with cook popping into this thread (and not adding anything to it by the way) and poking the snake until the snake bit him. Just not fair to kill the snake when all he did was protect himself.

This move was long overdue. Cuba is no longer a threat to any other country. The Castro brothers don't have much time left. The embargo simply hurt the Cuban people (many of whom like Americans) and provided the Castros with ready-made anti-American propaganda--the better to keep their people in chains. Lifting the embargo (eventually) will lift Cubans' standard of living, making it more unlikely that the Castros will be succeeded by another Communist government. The GOP will make a big show, as Rubio is doing, to oppose this move. Before long, the big business people who own the GOP will see Cuba as a major investment opportunity--and the GOP will shut up and go along.

Cuba before the revolution had a substantial middle class. Cubans were among the most accomplished people in the Western Hemisphere. Castro regarded his middle class as "bourgeois," and a threat to his regime. So, he drove out Cuba's most productive citizens. They came here and are building our country, not his.

yeah, 'the rich that own the GOP will see this as a business opportunity and go along'. quote... turnbull. this post is so right. those republican rich only care about one thing, and that's profit. those rich corporations will stand in line to get into cuba. the money wins every time.

Both cook and pb have been warned REPEATEDLY about the flaming. I no longer care who started it. Both of them are guilty here and both of them are suspended.

Except cookcounty adds absolutley nothing to this board, has over a 1000 posts of trolling bullshit, while PB IS this board. The difference should be clear as day.

TB, I find your analysis right on target. However, it is only through investment that we will gain access to the island and its people.

I can't wait for it to happen (if it happens). In anticipation, I will more closely follow commodity markets, and consider increasing my stake in transportation and travel equities.

I never knew Cuba didn't have cell phones till 2008. I'm watching 60 minutes they were talking about that. Shit Reese Witherspoon looks good she's on right now!

You'd be very smart to drop this right now. Let's see if you "get it".

SC are you watching 60 minutes there talking about Cuba right now and people will soon be allowed to travel there. What do you think of Leslie Stahl was she a fox back in the day or what !

Not watching it, but she's STILL a good-lookin' gal. I'd go to Havana with her.


Did any of you see "Guys and Dolls"? (with Marlon Brando). He took his lady interest for a night trip to Havana. Fun scene in a fun movie.

Cuba was the gem of the Caribbean just as Lebanon used to be the gem of the middle east.

now that atlantic city is bust, could we see gambling casinos in cuba again ?

Very good analogy, Oli. Plus, Cuba has the absolutely best-looking women in the Hemisphere.