I agree that US policy towards China and Cuba should be similar.

So do I. Why the fuck we recognize those swine in Peking i do not understand. There is a perfectly democratic Chinese government located on Taiwan that should be recognized by our government. However Senator Feinstein's multibillionaire husband has HUGE business interests in red china, so don't look for change too soon.

PS,
Perfect point. People think I'm nuts when I go on about the Republic of China (Taiwan). THEY deserve our recognition. It should not even be an issue. Instead of using China (communist) to justify recognizing Cuba, we should use Cuba to justify recognizing (and de-recognizing china) Taiwan.

Errrr ... most of the inhabitants of the Republic of China do not consider themselves to be living in China, or that they are Chinese at all.

Its called 'Taiwan' for a reason.

The US foreign policy is really the US economic foreign policy. I don't think that anyone is naive enough to believe that our policies are not any way related to our economic interests.

Democracy and Free Elections!!!


Give me a break.

Why does China, which has an abysmal Human Rights record, is Communist, and not ashamed to admit it, and has been in several major wars with the US, get special political handling, special favorable trade policies, and has the BUSH administration doing some major butt-kissing??? And why does Cuba which has an abysmal human rights record, is communist and not afraid to admit it, but gets NO favorable political handling and is actually embargoed???

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that China has Billions and Billions of poor peasants we can market pepsi, Cokes, Big Macs, Cell phones etc and lots of raw matreials and mineral assets whereas Cuba has only a few million poor peasants to market to, and really has only sugar cane.

While it is true China has embarked on market reforms on the behest of the US, so we can buy cheap electronics and sell fast food to them, they are still a repressive, brutal and fascist government. Cuba is less so, but still bad.

Money Talks.

The Chinese have a HUGE stockpile of Chemical and Bio Weapons, and a majority of the arms and weapons found in the caves of Afganistan that came directly from Chinese arms dealers.

And the Bush administration sheepishly admits that there is no evidence or foundation to the administration claims that Cuba has any active Bio-warfare program and have "no evidence" that they been supplying terrorist organizations with these weapons (ie. they LIED and got caught!!!!)

It was a really feeble attempt at trying to submarine the Carter visit and it backfired horribly.

Lets face it.. Cuba has been a bugaboo to the conservative right in this country since Castro took power.

But what really rankles the US is that Castro sits 90 miles off out coast and thumbs his nose at the US.

It's not hard to believe that the US has actually filed claims for compensation on behalf of the US owners who had their properties siezed and nationalized when Castro took power. What is embarrasing to the US is that many of these owners were memebers of organized crime (remember the Godfather!!). Many of these claims are still on file. But what is really amazing is that some of these very claimants had various properties seized by the US governemnt when found guilty under RICO statutes in the last two decades. Yet the US still holds these claims on behalf of these "families"

And compensation for these "famililies and business owners" has always been a requisite for resuming or normalizing relations with Cuba.

Was GW preaching to the choir when he addressed many Floridians yesterday when he called cuban elections a joke!!! At least someone counted their vote!!! He should know if you have your brother is the GUV and your losing the Florida/US election you can always claim vote fraud and manipulate the vote in your favor. Apparently GW harbors the illusion that Cuban elections are not fair.

Perhaps he should be praising Castro for teaching the Florida Gov and the Supreme court on how to steal an election.


OG

OG,

You make some very good points about US policy towards Cuba. Another aspect of the "money talks" rule which you don't mention but which plays an enormous role in US politics is the power and influence that the Cuban exile community has in the Republican party and the amount of political contributions they make to Republican candidates. (Remember the Elian Gonzalez incident.)

In my opinion, two things must happen before relations are normalized with Cuba. First, Fidel Castro has to leave power. Secondly, either the Cuban exile community needs to support the normalization process, or their political influence must be neutralized in some fashion or another.

I think it's likely Clinton would have been able to accomplish this during his administration if he hadn't gotten himself in so much trouble with his personal problems that he lost the power to govern and to create policy.

OG, of course money talks. Look at who the US companies were that sold illegal technology to the Chinese. And look at who some of the biggest promoters are of the US getting involved in Iraq. In the long run the Chinese will probably become our worse fear while Sadam H isn't any real threat at all.

In her Senate confirmation hearings Rice identified Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Zimbabwe, Burma and Belarus as "outposts of tyranny."

She also said "We are building a candid, co-operative and constructive relationship with China."

The last time I looked China was a one party totalitarian state but I guess that's better than a tyranny.

China is a one party totalitarian state whom sells Nuclear ICBM's to terrorist nations...no big deal...sheesh

But watch out for those Cuban cigars. :-)

That's some serious WMD there, heh, heh ;-)

We need another President that knows what to do with a good cigar.

"one party" does not equate to Totalitarian.

You'll need to explain that to my friends in Havana, heh, heh. . .

China has $505 BILLION in US Treasuries, so I guess the Bushies will keep looking the other way. You can't really slap down your biggest creditor, can you?

Torpedo
I'm sure Fidel has had many laughs thinking of Bill and Monica " sharing " a cigar in the Oval office. I wonder if it WAS Cuban ?

Would you expect anything less from "Slick Willy"

God, I miss him! heh, heh

Sandman
If you mean he chooses only the best I would agree with you except, thinking of the fat cow he chose to insert said cigar into brings that opinion into clear question.

KM-I agree with you. I wouldn't stick your dick in that fat assed bitch but hey.....he couldn't be choosey.

Can you imagine what it took to get her through the white house security gates in the first place?????

Any port in a storm!...Especially over Hillary!

But, a fine Monte A, smoked in the presence of any 20 someting girl, after dipping it in her natural jiuces....who gives a shit what she looks like?

It's a cold winter's night, the town is shut down due to a workers strike (remember, Congress shut down all non-critical government workers and contractors due to budget dispute). It's getting late at night and someone orders Dominos pizza. A girl brings you your pizza, she flashes you, the other immediate alternatives are Hillary or hand, the round chick flirts some more........

I think we all would have let her blow us under those conditions, right?