with the recent warm talk and hand shaking between the fellows mentioned above, i'm reminded of the old max roach album title "deeds, not words." yes, i agree with the recent reduction in restrictions in regards to cuba, and yes, i would like to see better relations between ourselves and cuba and venezuela, but who will get to determine how the relations are? if we babble on about "democracy" in cuba as we remain dominated by two corporate parties of war, if we pontificate about the importance of a "free press" as our own corporate media offers very little in the way of diversity in political and economic thought, and if we criticize them for political prisoners as we continue to house various former panthers, move members, mumia, peltier, the cuban 5, and many more, it would seem to me to be a one sided progress.
if close relations are to come, what kind of relations will they be? for years, we had very close relations with haiti, which remains the poorest nation in the americas. today, we are very close with columbia, a country with a horrendous human rights record. any relations we have must be ones that respect the full political and economic sovereignty of both cuba and venezuela. anything short of that will be criminal. as a bonus, it would be nice if we would issue an apology for the various crimes we have committed against cuba. how about a freeing of the cuban 5? how about a liberal aid package, with no strings attached, to cuba, as a small offer of apology for the 50 years of economic warfare we have practiced against them? how about an acknowledgement of the incredible achievements in education and health brought by the cuban revolution to cuba? the same goes for venezuela.
obama has shown better form than bush in regards to these issues. now, we need some content to go with it. the words are nice, but what of the deeds? ending the embargo is a no brainer. it shouldn't take years. we should exert no pressure on either country to change from within. their should be no strings attached to our engagement with either country.
let's see what happens. i confess to being negative, for i have seen the results of our "relations" with too many other nations to get too excited.
but hey, if the embargo were to end and cuba was to remain a society of the revolution, that would be a good thing.
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1 comment:
EXCELLENT Article!
You have raised many points, that many other's, including myself, had not thought of before.
Like as you say, an Apology from the US, for "50 years of economic warfare"
Thank you for your honesty!
Amongst so many lies, the float around the net, or are introduced by the minute, which continue to be perpetrated by the same people, over and over again & the biggest loser, always the Cuban people...
Love & Peace
DDH
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