Sometimes humor is all that's left.......
 

Canadian, Mark Steyn, usually goes for pithy commentary with a decidedly humorous edge, regardless of the seriousness of the topic. Case in point, Gitmo. I ask you, is this any way to fight a war? Here's Mark's take on his visit to Cuba.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/steyn/7...teyn01.article

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Re: Sometimes humor is all that's left.......
 

I Diddent Understand It?????????

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I liked that report. :D If all else fails then humour is a good substitute. He is like a sharp knife nicking away at the subject with the humour. made my day esp the comment;

After listening to Pat Leahy's contribution to the debate, I wonder if the Gitmo medical facility's lavish team of mental health experts might not be more usefully deployed to the U.S. Senate.

Can we borrow them for Westminster when they have finished in Washington?

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:engsmil: Castro has seen off more 'Popes and American Presidents' than any other ruler, so he must have something going for him!:cool:

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Oh, yes, Fidel is a WONDERFUL man. That's why half the Cuban population applies for exit visas every year - or simply try to escape.

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Yeah, he's a bloody DICTATOR who elects himself!!!!!

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Not much evidence for that "half the Cuban population" claim that I can find. Would you please provide a link to where you got the info? Thanks!

I'm no fan of Castro (or of any dictator, friend or foe), but the past forty years have proven that US foreign policy toward Cuba has completely failed to bring Castro down. And yet we persist with the same failed policy. What a waste!

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Not really a waste as he has had no power to do anything, bringing him down has never been a policy of the USA since after the collapse of the cold war, just containment and not letting the Communists dictate the whole south American policy. I have 2 questions though, When he dies will all the so called exciles go back as they claim or is life to rosey in the US? Secondly the main threat isn't Cuba but Chavez in Venezuela, he will be a big problem if he gets voted on to the UN security council to the Latin American seat, a post that would place it in a position to destabilise U.S. and European policies. Why is the Labor party supporting him?

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:engsmil: At last a free-thinking person, I know nothing of Castro, but he's still there pulling the strings, love him or hate him. :engsmil:

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Castro never really had the power to do anything on his own. Cuba's economy could not support it. For a number of years, the USSR gave Castro enough money to make him something of a problem, but that's all gone.

I would differ with your opinion on the idea that the US is merely doing containment. The Bush administration has made a number of significant changes to our policy vis-a-vis Cuba, and those policies harken back to the days when the US was trying to make life for the average Cuban bad enough to incite a coup. Didn't work then, isn't working now. Good friend of mine was recently a consular officer for the US in Havana (as we have no official relations with Cuba, we work through the Swiss Embassy).

As far as the Cubans returning to Cuba, some of them probably will, if things change. I would expect most of them to remain here, not necessarily because life is cushy, but because their kids and grandkids have been raised as Americans. A lot of them are married to non-Cubans, too. Even for those who originally came to the US, their life, family and friends are here. Probably not much left in Cuba by comparison.

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I've just returned from Guantanamo Bay myself. I'm no great fan of Mark Steyn (or the Bush administration for that matter) but I can confirm that the basic facts in his article about the way detainees are currently treated is true. I wrote a short piece for my website about this which can be seen at www.gregpope.co.uk/news

Greg

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Even a casual observer would have realized that I was being SARCASTIC here! The point I was trying to make is that Cuban's are not at liberty to leave Cuba whenever they so choose. They are considered to be the property of the Cuban government. Exit visas are difficult to obtain.......hence the large number of Cuban citizens who wash up on the shores of south Florida every year. I get a little tired of people like you.....the blame America first crowd. There is only one person responsible for the situation in Cuba.....Fidel Castro. What excuse can be given now that the island has a booming tourist economy, along with foreign investment? The only person who benefits is Castro. I don't see where any of this has helped the Cuban people.

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And sometimes, the humor fails to amuse!

While the Cuban tourist economy is the largest driver of their economy and is increasing rapidly, let's get some facts. I too "get a little tired," but I tire of discussions with vague generalities and unproven facts, or with the excuses that people make when asked to substantiate their claims.

Do vague generalities and supposedly "sarcastic" comments add meaningfuly to the debate? Apparently, we differ greatly on that - but I've always preferred knowing what can be known, so I like to dig for facts.

Let's examine these rather good articles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Cuba

1999 - $1.9 billion in gross tourist revenues
2003 - $2.1 billion in gross tourist revenues

That equates to roughly 2.55% compound annual growth. Not an overwhelming growth rate, to be sure. From another website, found the population of Cuba to be about 11.3 million. Doing the simple math, it equates to less than $200 per capita in gross tourist revenues, or about $200 today if the growth rate has remained the same. And, of course, as these are gross revenues, they do not include the costs involved. I'm not convinced that your description of Cuba's tourism industry as "booming" is on target.

And, no, in spite of your claims, I don't blame America for the state that Cuba is in. Dont' know how you managed to come to that erroneous conclusion, but it is hogwash, pure plain and simple. I do think that our foreign policy towards Cuba, virtually unchanged for many, many years, had been clearly demonstrated not to work.

I, and many others, find fault with our government kowtowing to a very small, special interest group of bitter Cuban expats (many of whom were part of the very corrupt, dictatorial Batista government), rather than finding a pragmatic policy that produces results. The rest of the world has moved on (hence, the growth in Cuba's tourism), but the USA is mired in the 1960s regarding Cuba. I see nothing wrong with seeing something that's not working and suggesting that a fix might be in the best interests of all!

Do feel free to

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Dag Bullseye and Billcat, can't we all just get along?:D

I guess my plan for an American Accyweb style monthly meeting is out of the question now eh? Thought we could meet up in Washington DC (although my location is probably closer to the middle).

Figure Crimson could head over from Southwest Virginia and yup, even thought of inviting Steeljack. I was afraid he'd ask for meeting in the middle like Denver. Hey, what about New Orleans? Plus I'm sure there are others.

We could sit around Pats and raise some hurricanes to our Accy cousins! Keep Smiling guys!

Hugs and Kisses,

Brian

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Excellent idea, Brian. Sans Hurricanes for me though. Ghastly drink. Maybe we'll work something out one of these days.

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A wee bit leery of wikipedia since anybody and their uncle can go onto the site and change things at will. Still, I have no argument with the figures quoted. It may seem like an insignificant percentage to us - but comparable, I believe, to some EU countries. Certainly enough ready cash to keep Fidel in control.

Alas, Cuba exchanged one corrupt dictator for another. Whilst our foreign policy should always be under review, I am not as confident as you appear to be that this situation is fixable as long as Castro is in power. I don't think pragmatism is going to work with him. Diplomacy never works with irreconcilable regimes. The Clinton administration, (with an assist from Jimmy Carter), tried that with North Korea. The EU is still trying to parlay the Iranians. That's not going to work either. The U.N. is corrupt and impotent. At some point, you just have to recognize how dangerous these governments are and deal with them accordingly.

I like facts also. And one certainly has to dig around for them. So, please continue to share. I suspect we shall have to agree to disagree on occasion - but, hey, that's the way the cookie crumbles.