BBC: Collapse of Cuban sugar industry [Click] (1) I remain of the opinion that it is shameful for the US to continue beating up on Cuba. (2) I could click past the request for a subscription. —Alan
I agree. If there was ever a justification for the U.S. embargo against Cuba, it is long since passed. We need to normalize relations and help to integrate Cuba into the hemisphere. The Kennedy administration's view of the Americas seemed sensible to me. Since then, it has all been a mess.
Remember that the Kennedy administration was responsible for the Bay of Pigs invasion, although it had been planned by the Eisenhower administration. Fulgencio Batista was a very bad man, who was on the verge of turning the country over to the US Mafia. Among other notable things after the revolution, there was the land redistribution program--which was considerably more generous to land owners (including Fidel's parents) than that forced upon Japan by the US after WWII, and (as memory serves me) rather less generous than the programs encouraged by the US in other Latin American countries in later years. And the Cuban literacy program was amazing. Fidel admitted that it might have been better to do it slower, but no matter--they got it done, despite Batista followers murdering some of the teachers. As for nationalization of American-owned companies, I approve of the government's offer to pay the US owners the values they claimed on tax returns under Batista; of course they claimed falsely low values, and shared the savings with Batista and his associates, but they got away with it for a very long time. I have a couple of related Audible books if you would be interested. ---Alan P.S.: I really like that photo of Fidel, carrying a rifle, leaping down from the tank destroyer during the Bay of Pigs invasion.
After the Revolution, Castro embarked on an unduly bloody purge. Eisenhower protested in a way that seemed to imply Cuba had to do what he sid. Castro told him where to shove it, and things wint downhill, with Cuba ending up aligned with the Soviet Union.
BTW, I can once again use my Gooble account for ID.
Indeed, I was not forgetting the disastrous Bay of Pigs, nor that, all in all, the Revolution was a very good thing. From what I gather the Eisenhower admin. was uniformly highhanded, not only with Cuba. If I recall correctly, according to A Thousand Days Kennedy very much wanted to nix the Bay of Pigs invasion but felt that he really couldn't.
Thanks for the offer, Bill. I do need to read up on the subject, but at the moment I'm snowed under with books and magazines. Won't be able to get to Cuba for quite a while.
Video: SNL Cold Open— Summer of Trump [Click] Yestere’en. The most noticeable thing for me is that the actor was far more coherent than The Former Guy. ——Alan
So most of the week I slept in the guest room, away from the cats, and for 6 nights I was avaeraging 7 hours of sleep per night (which is my weekly goal). Then last night, while still sleeping apart from the cats, I was too stuffed up to sleep more than two hours. So my weekly average ended up 6.34hours per night. Sigh. On the plus side, I was still functional all day, because I had been well rested previously. Heading to bed early tonight in hopes of better results. 🤞
BBC: Collapse of Cuban sugar industry [Click] (1) I remain of the opinion that it is shameful for the US to continue beating up on Cuba. (2) I could click past the request for a subscription.
ReplyDelete—Alan
I agree. If there was ever a justification for the U.S. embargo against Cuba, it is long since passed. We need to normalize relations and help to integrate Cuba into the hemisphere. The Kennedy administration's view of the Americas seemed sensible to me. Since then, it has all been a mess.
DeleteRemember that the Kennedy administration was responsible for the Bay of Pigs invasion, although it had been planned by the Eisenhower administration. Fulgencio Batista was a very bad man, who was on the verge of turning the country over to the US Mafia. Among other notable things after the revolution, there was the land redistribution program--which was considerably more generous to land owners (including Fidel's parents) than that forced upon Japan by the US after WWII, and (as memory serves me) rather less generous than the programs encouraged by the US in other Latin American countries in later years. And the Cuban literacy program was amazing. Fidel admitted that it might have been better to do it slower, but no matter--they got it done, despite Batista followers murdering some of the teachers. As for nationalization of American-owned companies, I approve of the government's offer to pay the US owners the values they claimed on tax returns under Batista; of course they claimed falsely low values, and shared the savings with Batista and his associates, but they got away with it for a very long time. I have a couple of related Audible books if you would be interested.
Delete---Alan
P.S.: I really like that photo of Fidel, carrying a rifle, leaping down from the tank destroyer during the Bay of Pigs invasion.
After the Revolution, Castro embarked on an unduly bloody purge. Eisenhower protested in a way that seemed to imply Cuba had to do what he sid. Castro told him where to shove it, and things wint downhill, with Cuba ending up aligned with the Soviet Union.
DeleteBTW, I can once again use my Gooble account for ID.
Indeed, I was not forgetting the disastrous Bay of Pigs, nor that, all in all, the Revolution was a very good thing. From what I gather the Eisenhower admin. was uniformly highhanded, not only with Cuba. If I recall correctly, according to A Thousand Days Kennedy very much wanted to nix the Bay of Pigs invasion but felt that he really couldn't.
DeleteThanks for the offer, Bill. I do need to read up on the subject, but at the moment I'm snowed under with books and magazines. Won't be able to get to Cuba for quite a while.
How Bridgerton’s real life Lady Whistledown scandalised 18th-century society [Click] “The subversive work of Eliza Haywood, the feminist forerunner of the TV show’s gossip columnist, is about to be republished”
ReplyDelete—-Alan
Subversive wimmin? Harrumph!
Delete----Alan
Video (without subtitles): How a Medical Mystery in Guam Led to a New Approach to Alzheimer’s Disease [Click] Double-blind study results anticipated next year.
ReplyDelete——Alan
Less than 12 hours 'til Howard Dean's press conference! I think it will be carried LIVE at www.WCAX.com.
ReplyDeleteVideo: SNL Cold Open— Summer of Trump [Click] Yestere’en. The most noticeable thing for me is that the actor was far more coherent than The Former Guy.
ReplyDelete——Alan
So most of the week I slept in the guest room, away from the cats, and for 6 nights I was avaeraging 7 hours of sleep per night (which is my weekly goal). Then last night, while still sleeping apart from the cats, I was too stuffed up to sleep more than two hours. So my weekly average ended up 6.34hours per night. Sigh. On the plus side, I was still functional all day, because I had been well rested previously. Heading to bed early tonight in hopes of better results. 🤞
ReplyDeleteSure wish I understood WHY I was so stuffed up last night, despite using all my remedies!
DeleteVideo: Two Top Psychologists on Trump [Click]
ReplyDelete——Alan