• Ashyr@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    In all seriousness, who does the embargo really benefit. Maybe it made sense during the Cold War when missiles were getting moved around, but now? Someone somewhere must be profiting from it, but it’s not the American people.

    • davel [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Wikipedia » Political positions of Noam Chomsky » Views on institutions » Criticism of United States government

      His conclusion is that a consistent part of the United States’ foreign policy is based on stemming the “threat of a good example.” This ‘threat’ refers to the possibility that a country could successfully develop outside the US-managed global system, thus presenting a model for other countries, including countries in which the United States has strong economic interests.

    • stella@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Nobody. It exists solely because of American’s indoctrinated hate towards Communism.

      I guess long term you could make the argument it threatens the ruling class, because if (more) communist ideals were proven successful then more nations would implement them.

    • Mossy Feathers (She/They)@pawb.social
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      1 year ago

      No one is, but my understanding is that banana companies stand to lose a ton of money if Cuba’s “”“debt”“” to the US is forgiven. Iirc Cuba has a significant outstanding debt with the US after they successfully overthrew their banana republic, because fruit companies got pissed off and shit themselves when Cuba told them to fuck off and seized their land. Said companies then went to the US government and bitched and moaned about not being able to use pseudo-slave labor for bananas anymore and the US government said, “oh, poor guys, they just wanted to grow bananas and get rich” and told Cuba it now owes the companies that were operating in Cuba a fuck ton of money. If the US government hadn’t whored out to banana companies, Cuba would probably be our weirdo little brother with strange ideas about what proper government should look like.

      It honestly weirds me out that tankies love to suck Putin and Pooh’s dick when Cuba is just right there and seems to be doing socialism right (I’ve heard Vietnam has been doing pretty well too, and genuinely likes the US despite the US-Vietnam war^1 ). My understanding is that the reason why Cuba struggles with quality of life is mainly a result of the US embargo. Hell, recently they passed a law regarding LGBT people which is supposedly one of the most progressive, if not the most progressive, set of protections for people who are LGBT in the world. Not only that, but supposedly it was the result of Cuban citizens (not politicians) getting together and deciding, collectively, that they needed better protections for people who are LGBT and received a large majority of support.

      What the fuck are you doing tankies? Why are you sucking Putin’s cock when Cuba’s over here being cool?


      ^1 I’ve been told that Vietnamese people see the war as validating (they went up against the biggest military in the world and won) and also understand that a lot of the soldiers deployed by the US didn’t actually want to be there, which is why they generally have a positive view of Americans.

        • PowerCrazy@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          Also “tankies” like cuba. So do leftists, and pretty much every one who doesn’t simp for capitalism. I’m pretty sure that Mossy Feathers strawman actually likes Cuba too.

        • Mossy Feathers (She/They)@pawb.social
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          1 year ago

          I almost never hear about tankies (at least not the hexbear/lemmygrad type) talking about Cuba. It’s always Russia and China. I’m sure they exist, but why do they like idolizing Russia and China? It makes no sense.

          • appel@whiskers.bim.boats
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            1 year ago

            Because Cuba is not often a major player in world events, like Russia and the PRC are currently. Cuba is involved in quite a few discussions in communist theory. I also don’t really see what you mean regarding idolizing, they just have quite a different viewpoint.

  • stella@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Of course.

    Fuck this country.

    Never voting for a democrat or republican again. They’re all scum.

    • Lols [they/them]@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      unless youre actually voting for a third party, not voting for the shinier turd is still a worthless position that does not improve anything

      • Asafum@feddit.nl
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        1 year ago

        I mean, voting 3rd party in the US system is just letting the party you agree least with win… There’s no good option :(

        • Lols [they/them]@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          i can appreciate that third parties can only become mainstream if folks vote for them while they arent, and that its perfectly possible that there will never be a ‘right’ time to vote for them

          even if you dont think its worth it now, theyre at least using their vote to improve things long term

      • Asafum@feddit.nl
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        1 year ago

        Bernie was the only one with balls to step forward. If there are any others out there then they’re hiding or being hidden somehow because we don’t see them.

        AOC is as close as you’ll get and the right immediately “Hillaried” her so now she’s “damaged goods.” They’re very good at muddying waters and ruining candidates via propaganda and brainwashing society.

    • xor@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      1 year ago

      Aye that’ll solve it.

      Trump actively increased sanctions while biden reduced them. They’re both shitty, but let’s not pretend they’re the same.

      Not voting at all makes it easier for the vastly worse party to consolidate power.

      • stella@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Not voting at all makes it easier for the vastly worse party to consolidate power.

        There is only one party: the party of the ruling class.

        The bickering between democrats and republicans is just a show to distract people while making them think their side is making progress.

        Both sides are just looking out for rich people. This will be true until we can get money out of politics.

        • xor@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          1 year ago

          You’re right that the US’s democracy is deeply flawed. Criticising and discussing how politicians are influenced, and the systems that allow it is great and valuable, especially when those systems are used to influence both major parties.

          But to pretend that every single politician is part of some hive mind run by a shadowy cabal, rather than a set of individuals with their own beliefs and aspirations is not only falling prey to conspiracy theories, but also massively damages your ability to actually understand how the systems work, and how its flaws can be mitigated. At the end of the day, regardless of what else may be influencing them, politicians still have to be elected by the citizens.

          Opting out of being involved in politics, not voting and just letting the universe run its course doesn’t solve the problems or stick it to the man, it only takes away your small piece of influence.

          If you don’t vote, politicians don’t care about you

          So vote, protest, have conversations with people about your views and listen to theirs. That’s the only way the system will work better for the people.

          • stella@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            No, not all politicians are bad.

            US democracy is so horrendously flawed, however, that only a few good eggs make it though. They almost serve as an excuse for ‘not all representatives are bad’ when the vast majority of them are.

            I think the true issue is the constituency. Nothing will change until the culture changes. For the culture to change, people need to admit when they’re wrong.

            I won’t hold my breath, personally.

  • _cnt0@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Podcast recommendation for people like me who like to listen because they don’t find time to read as much as they’d like and don’t have first hand experience/memory of the Cuban revolution and the following intertwined history with the US, because, well, they weren’t born yet:

    https://blowback.show/Season-2

    After a critically-acclaimed retelling of the Iraq War, season two of Blowback presents the unlikely story of the Cuban Revolution: America’s Cold War crusade brings the world to a nuclear-tipped showdown between the Kennedy brothers, Fidel Castro, the Soviet Union, the CIA, and the Mafia. Co-hosted by Brendan James and Noah Kulwin, season two is a 10-part account of how the United States tried and failed to thwart the creation of a socialist government less than a hundred miles to its south.

    The style of the podcast, with two moderators, took some getting used to for me. But I learned to love it. It is very comprehensive and in-depth. You can find it pretty much everywhere; I listened to it on spotify.

  • zerfuffle@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    If the US and Israel are completely aligned in foreign policy, what keeps Israel from just becoming treated as another state of the US?

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    HAVANA, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly called for the 31st time on the United States to end its decades-long trade embargo against Cuba as the communist-run island suffers its worst economic crisis in decades, with shortages of food, fuel and medicine.

    Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in a speech before the assembly that the “blockade prevents Cuba from accessing food, medicines, and technological and medical equipment.”

    Havana is also prohibited from exporting to the neighboring United States, Rodriguez said, curtailing access to a massive market for its goods and costing Cuba nearly $5 billion in losses in 2022 alone.

    “The blockade (embargo) qualifies as a crime of genocide,” said Rodriguez, who said the U.S. policies were deliberately aimed at promoting suffering among the Cuban people in order to force change in the government.

    U.S. diplomat Paul Folmsbee, in a brief speech opposing the resolution, said the embargo was aimed at promoting “human rights and fundamental liberties in Cuba” and that the U.S. made exceptions for humanitarian purposes.

    The long-running dispute between Cuba and the United States shows little sign of detente, despite some modest gestures of goodwill under the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden.


    The original article contains 330 words, the summary contains 199 words. Saved 40%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!