Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by cmrdporcupine 1379 days ago
On the Cuba issue specifically the EU and Canada many years ago basically told the US to "f off." Way back in the 90s in the beginning of the Helms Burton act days. I know the US occasionally makes threatening but unenforceable noises, but I'm pretty sure the EU drew a firm line on US overreach on Cuba. The mechanisms behind the US trade blockade of Cuba are considered to breach the sovereignty of other nations.

(As a Canadian I've been to Cuba many times with no issues; however a friend's father worked for a nickel mining company and spent time there overseeing their operations in Cuba and he can no longer travel to the US among other things.)
1 comments
SaintSeiya 1379 days ago
There's no "blockade" of US against the dictatorial communist regime of Cuba, just an embargo. which is totally different. Proof of that is the thousand of Canadians that go to Cuba to have cheap sex with poor people including minors, something they cannot do on their country. With a blockade you could not do that. Basically the Cuban government is a mafia, that never pays back what it owes to other countries on top of intentionally impoverishing its own people and violation all sort of human rights there. making paper laws for the world while doing anything they want one on the inside to its slaves citizens. In Cuba you can go to jail for 30 years just for pacifically and silently protesting on the street with a t-shirt saying: "Patria y Vida"
link
ceejayoz 1379 days ago
The question isn't "does Cuba do shitty things?", though.

The question is a) "why is Cuba singled out over places like China that do similar (and often worse) shitty things?" b) "why are we ignoring decades of failure of the embargo to induce any meaningful change?"

link
cmrdporcupine 1379 days ago
Exactly. And I would add that the shitty things about regime in Cuba are somewhat contiguous with the previous shitty (Batista) regime. Both repressive. Both awful. The biggest appreciable difference is: American vs not-American (former Soviet) control/domination.

I think Obama at least sensed that the best way to get Cuba into a more functional state and better neighbour was to take the "but we're embargoed!" excuse away from the regime there. Trump undid that.

BTW the only time I came across sex tourism in Cuba, it was indeed a creepy guy with two young (probably minor) girls. In a cafe in Havana. But the guy was not Canadian, he was American. And repulsive.

link