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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: 2) by HiThere on Friday December 19 2014, @08:28PM
That's not quite what's going on. People are selfish. Cuba conducts international relations by sending doctors, the US by sending troops, so the people being related to prefer Cuba. (China isn't so simple. Lots of people don't like China because they conduct relations by sending merchants and workers. But the people in power tend to like them.)
In case you haven't noticed, I oversimplified a lot, but that's the basic shape of it. Bullies are rarely liked, even when nobody dares to challenge them.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Saturday December 20 2014, @09:10AM
What you are saying is a different perspective, from outside the western alliances. Might be a valid point as well, but is not directly related to my point of view from inside these alliances. It's quite some time ago that the US invaded Germany, in a time when it was probably justified, so my feelings are not influenced by any supposed hard feelings because of US being a bully towards us.
I also have the impression that many US-critical comments here come from western societies, probably from within the US itself. That's why I'd assume my position is not only mine, but relevant for many. Also I think it is the bigger threat for us all: We are losing our pride and our moral base from the inside. There is no relevant threat of our culture being attacked from the outside, but we seem to manage to destroy it from the inside.
Registered IRC nick on chat.soylentnews.org: qkontinuum