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Peter Baker reports at the NYT that in a deal negotiated during 18 months of secret talks hosted largely by Canada and encouraged by Pope Francis, the United States will restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba and open an embassy in Havana for the first time in more than a half-century. In addition, the United States will ease restrictions on remittances, travel and banking relations, and Cuba will release 53 Cuban prisoners identified as political prisoners by the United States government.
Although the decades-old American embargo on Cuba will remain in place for now, the administration signaled that it would welcome a move by Congress to ease or lift it should lawmakers choose to. “We cannot keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. It does not serve America’s interests, or the Cuban people, to try to push Cuba toward collapse.
We know from hard-learned experience that it is better to encourage and support reform than to impose policies that will render a country a failed state,” said the White House in a written statement. "The United States is taking historic steps to chart a new course in our relations with Cuba and to further engage and empower the Cuban people."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 19 2014, @03:29AM
Keeping 1959-era cars running without access to the Detroit supply chain is a trick too.
Cuban mechanics have quite a knack.
Reminds me of the Psycho-Billy Cadillac.
http://restomodders.com/2013/07/23/one-piece-at-a-time/ [restomodders.com]
-- gewg_
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Friday December 19 2014, @07:27AM
Older cars tended to be fairly simple, you could understand them and tinker with a screwdriver and hammer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 19 2014, @09:49AM
What do you do when your water pump goes out and there's no parts store on the corner that has a new one you can just bolt on?
These guys know how to actually FIX things.
Oh, and I meant to include this link in my comment.
http://www.google.com/images?q=Havana+cars&start=20 [google.com]
-- gewg_