December 07, 2013

Totten's next dispatch -- Havana
— Purple Avenger

This got stomped when I last floated it, so lets try again.

This is but a taste of what Totten wrote, not even a taste really, more of a wafting aroma. Hit the link and savor the whole dish.
...now it looks like a set on the History ChannelÂ’s show Life After People, only itÂ’s still inhabited. Baghdad in the middle of the Iraq war was in better shape physically. I know because I spent months there and wrote a book about it.

Roofs have collapsed. Balcony doors hang not vertically but at angles, allowing passersby to see inside homes where the interior paint is just as peeled as it is on the outside. I could even see inside some peopleÂ’s homes through gashes in exterior walls. The weight of rain water knocks whole buildings down as if they were dynamited...

Having transcended the evils of capitalism and with all the worldly needs of the citizen provided for, the Cuban govt has no need for such tomfoolery as "minimum wage"; instead the notion of "maximum wage" seems to have taken root.
...Trust me: you would not want to live there, especially not on a ration card and the governmentÂ’s twenty dollar maximum salary. Not that additional money would do you much good. Where would you spend it? Not even in the slums of Mexico have I seen such pitiful shops...
Viva la Revolucion comrades.
Coming soon to an (ex)Superpower near you.
[UPDATE] Totten has written about a large component of the restraints in Cuba being mental - the prison is essentially in people's minds now.

A similar thing seems to happening in the DPRK:

...Australian Mark Freeman has visited the DPRK four times and is preparing an academic paper on the North Korean propaganda. He doubts the fences in the northeast are live and believes that they are the relics of a more effective and extensive system.

“In North Korea, the electric fence, the barbed wire, is in people’s minds. They have been very effective in making the outside world appear very, very dangerous and unpredictable,” says Freeman.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 01:31 PM | Comments (342)
Post contains 351 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Yay!  Dump!


no...wait....

Posted by: EC at December 05, 2013 05:22 AM (GQ8sn)

2 First

Posted by: flounder at December 05, 2013 05:23 AM (Kkt/i)

3 Bummer

Posted by: flounder at December 05, 2013 05:23 AM (Kkt/i)

4 And yet, Obama and the left would drive this country in the same direction.

Posted by: Sticky Wicket at December 05, 2013 05:23 AM (0IhFx)

5 The need a new Michael Corleone.

Posted by: Vic at December 05, 2013 05:23 AM (RlOaM)

6 This was on the ONT or sidebar a few days ago. Great read, but long.

Posted by: flounder at December 05, 2013 05:24 AM (Kkt/i)

7 Sounds great to me. Everyone is equal in poverty and misery, especially the double++ equal leaders whose nuanced understanding of progressive policy makes them the most capable of doling out the misery.

Posted by: Progressives Everywhere at December 05, 2013 05:24 AM (W7ffl)

8 Was he talking about Cuba, or Detroit?

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at December 05, 2013 05:24 AM (knoK7)

9 No, the sidebar was a general'ish  piece on his Cuba trip.  This one specifically focuses on Havana.  He plans to do a whole series on the Cuba trip.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at December 05, 2013 05:25 AM (L0b3J)

10 Perhaps 'progressives' need to be moved to San Francisco, and that city put under the control of the Castros.

They'd love it!

Right?

Rights?

Posted by: Anon at December 05, 2013 05:25 AM (1rRMG)

11 But what do Beyonce and Jay-Z think?

Posted by: ejo at December 05, 2013 05:25 AM (GXvSO)

12 Comin' soon to Ø-Merica....

Posted by: backhoe at December 05, 2013 05:25 AM (ULH4o)

13 Any culture that wastes 3 productive hours of daylight per day taking a FN nap isn't going to amount to much.

and there you are.

Posted by: Todd Bridges, first to go bad, last to go down at December 05, 2013 05:27 AM (HWgnC)

14 But that's all completely wrong. We know from Michael Moore that Cuba has first rate medical facilities and that the Island is a workers Paradise!!!!!

Posted by: D-Lamp at December 05, 2013 05:27 AM (bb5+k)

15 Gee, I thought Cuba was a place of magical plenty in the wonderful land of glorious plenty brought on by the People's Revolution with free health care for all.

No?

Posted by: huerfano at December 05, 2013 05:27 AM (bAGA/)

16 If I were President, or even CINC NORTHCOM, I would periodically scare the crap out of those commie bastards. Just run a crash drill at 2AM, every strike aircraft east of the Mississippi would go screaming toward Cuba, a quick go on the entire 18th ABN corps, crash to sea for a shit load of Marines. Then pull back, have breakfast and go home. Do it again in 90 days.

Posted by: Jean at December 05, 2013 05:27 AM (cLM8I)

17 Oops. You're right. A promising companion piece then.

Posted by: flounder at December 05, 2013 05:28 AM (Kkt/i)

18 wastes 3 productive hours of daylight per day

Daylight is overrated.

Posted by: The Vampires at December 05, 2013 05:29 AM (L0b3J)

19 Just run a crash drill at 2AM, every strike aircraft east of the Mississippi would go screaming toward Cuba, a quick go on the entire 18th ABN corps, crash to sea for a shit load of Marines. Then pull back, have breakfast and go home. Do it again in 90 days. Posted by: Jean at December 05, 2013 09:27 AM (cLM8I) JFK probably signed a secret deal to forbid such tactics.

Posted by: D-Lamp at December 05, 2013 05:30 AM (bb5+k)

20 15 Gee, I thought Cuba was a place of magical plenty in the wonderful land of glorious plenty brought on by the People's Revolution with free health care for all.

No?
Posted by: huerfano

If that were really true people would not risk their lives- and their children's- to escape it. Kind of like the barbed wire and machinegun towers of the old Comblock countries- to hold their "citizens" in....
( Yeah, I know you are being ironic. Just wanted to make those points. )

Posted by: backhoe at December 05, 2013 05:31 AM (ULH4o)

21 Ok, it's an invasion of the cayman is. Were going after mittens money and all thus 1% bastards.

Posted by: Jean at December 05, 2013 05:31 AM (cLM8I)

22 Since the other comments seem to have disappeared.... First!

Posted by: D-Lamp at December 05, 2013 05:32 AM (bb5+k)

23

How do you break an entire culture out of learned helplessness?

 

Or how do you stop our executive agencies from instilling that mentality in our own culture?

Posted by: Ook? at December 05, 2013 05:34 AM (FBkKA)

24 such an informative post.

Posted by: trailortrash at December 05, 2013 05:45 AM (xllDV)

25 Its been stomped again

Posted by: buzzion at December 07, 2013 01:34 PM (LI48c)

26 What?????

Posted by: EC at December 07, 2013 01:35 PM (doBIb)

27 Moar enstompening. End the madness.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Hibernian Hooligan at December 07, 2013 01:35 PM (6rcHp)

28 Continues mystify me that so many leftists tout this tragic place as some kind of Utopian resort.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Hibernian Hooligan at December 07, 2013 01:37 PM (6rcHp)

29 Moar enstompening. End the madness. *** I checked several times and there wasn't anything new in the works so I posted an open thread at pretty much the exact same time this one went up, but this one was first so I pulled mine down.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at December 07, 2013 01:37 PM (DmNpO)

Posted by: RAMONES at December 07, 2013 01:38 PM (Y2wAk)

31 I think that article was in the American Spectator. Pretty good read.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at December 07, 2013 01:41 PM (4cA6A)

32 #8 - Oh please, Detroit must be a paradise compared to Cuba.  Well except for the weather, of course.

I read this piece (2 actually) and the worst thing was about how the neighbors spy on one another, ALL THE TIME.

It's like Gladys Kravitz elevated to judge, jury & executioner.

Posted by: Jocon307 at December 07, 2013 01:45 PM (7+F2i)

33

“In North Korea, the electric fence, the barbed wire, is in people’s minds. They have been very effective in making the outside world appear very, very dangerous and unpredictable,” says Freeman.

 

 

 

If NK or Cuba are ever freed, an anthropologist could find some interesting facts about human minds perhaps?  That is, if the anthropologists are not so blinded by their ideology. 

Posted by: rd at December 07, 2013 01:48 PM (D+lxs)

34 >>> Continues mystify me that so many leftists tout this tragic place as some kind of Utopian resort. Very little income inequality in Cuba.

Posted by: fluffy at December 07, 2013 01:48 PM (Ua6T/)

35 Funny how commies try to keep people from leaving their wonderful island of free shit.

Posted by: YIKES! at December 07, 2013 01:49 PM (mETGQ)

36 Very little income inequality in Cuba.

But a very, very large gap between the select few who are allowed to have income and everyone else.  Much bigger than the gap between me, and women my age who started making babies at 16 and are now raising grandkids on the same gov't handouts as they raised the first batch.

Posted by: HeatherRadish™ at December 07, 2013 01:51 PM (hO8IJ)

37 Very little income inequality in Cuba. Posted by: fluffy at December 07, 2013 05:48 PM (Ua6T/) Gee I wonder if their is any medical inequality?

Posted by: YIKES! at December 07, 2013 01:52 PM (mETGQ)

38 They call me Cuban Pete I'm the king of the rhumba beat When I play the maracas I go Chick chicky boom chick chicky boom

Posted by: Cuban Pete at December 07, 2013 01:53 PM (UAMVq)

39 ...Trust me: you would not want to live there, especially not on a ration card and the governmentÂ’s twenty dollar maximum salary. Not that additional money would do you much good. Where would you spend it? Not even in the slums of Mexico have I seen such pitiful shops...

The Middle Class.

Posted by: Prez'nit 404 at December 07, 2013 01:54 PM (Dwehj)

40 I just wonder if Americans will actually start shooting or if we will have been completely pacified by the time full leftist totalitarianism comes here.

Posted by: traye at December 07, 2013 01:55 PM (mLcRC)

41 Does the US still have sanctions on Cuba? I hope it's not us keeping them down, but I'm sure every other country trades with them so I'm pretty sure it's not us.

Posted by: Lady Billingsgate at December 07, 2013 01:56 PM (5hC5C)

42 Comandante Castro had a Spanish surgical team brought in for his big operation awhile ago. Guess Dr. Nick Riveria was busy.

Posted by: YIKES! at December 07, 2013 01:56 PM (mETGQ)

43 O/T - we need another football thread - great Auburn Missouri game almost at half 28-20 Auburn.

Posted by: CFB fan at December 07, 2013 01:56 PM (5Q1ZU)

44 from Cuba, NorK, to Central Africa Republic ... The U.N. Security Council voted to authorize the French deployment. "We're appreciative of France, but we know that 50 years after our independences, France is again required to come in as a fireman to save us — it's not right," said Alpha Conde, president of Guinea. "It's a humiliation for Africa that 50 years afterward, we are not at all able to manage our problems ourselves." N.B., "Africa"/"we" -- Guinea's President references just as Sarah Palin did during '08 campaign, addressing a reporter's question regionally. Fifty years ago, when France left it's Bengui Colony, though the elements were there, was the departure that allowed national independence so much over Muslim v. Christian then? If the Kenyan experience were representative of "Africa" 50 years ago, then the anti-colonialist agitation for independence from France would have been based upon Marxism, Communism -- granting the government legitimate authority to tax citizens 100% in order to provide them with the basic elements for human survival. Like Cuba, and the Norks. Given China's increasingly prevalent investment business presence in Africa, there being no greater communist example for "How To" succeed in Africa, it would be interesting to know what take (officially, generally) the Chinese have in this or any other Muslim v. Christian regional wars over turf.

Posted by: panzernashorn at December 07, 2013 01:57 PM (MhA4j)

45 “In North Korea, the electric fence, the barbed wire, is in people’s minds. They have been very effective in making the outside world appear very, very dangerous and unpredictable,” says Freeman."

Worth every electron for the repeat, Purp.

And so, here's the comparative for Cuba. (miami herald)

Where's Elian?

LINK: http://preview.tinyurl.com/o33wyj2

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 01:57 PM (HjPtV)

46 I'm expanding my network of slums as we speak.  From sea to shining sea bitches.

Posted by: Valerie Jarrett at December 07, 2013 01:58 PM (Pr6hk)

47 Go to Facebook. My LIVs have been excoriating capitalism since Friday. Il Papa sure did bail me out! Viva Cuber!

Posted by: Prez'nit 404 at December 07, 2013 01:58 PM (Dwehj)

48 Now 28-27 Mizzou just scored on a long 55 yard pass with 18'seconfs left in half

Posted by: CFB fan at December 07, 2013 01:59 PM (5Q1ZU)

49

O/T 

Richard Fernandez at the Belmont Club has a piece up about Pearl Harbor and the men that were trapped in the wreckage of the battleships.  Simiar to DiT post earlier. 

 

I thank their generation for their sacrifices and I hate that our succeeding generations are throwing all their success.  It is being thrown away in the pursuit of progressivism and social justice.  Wretchard is correct, we are quickly destroying the design margin of our society world wide. 

 

Soon we will be a cold Havana. 

Posted by: rd at December 07, 2013 01:59 PM (D+lxs)

50

Comrades, if you see or hear someone saying bad things about your preznit, report it to us at

Attackwatch.net or @attackwatch on twitter.


Posted by: Attack Watch at December 07, 2013 02:00 PM (Pr6hk)

51 Dear JFK, We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making sure those planes on the USS Essex aircraft carrier didn't come to our rescue during the Bay of Pigs invasion. We love slavery!

Posted by: The Cuban People at December 07, 2013 02:00 PM (0FSuD)

52 A worker's paradise. Well, it would be if the US would trade with them. See? As usual, capitalism stands in the way of a socialist success story.

Posted by: soothie at December 07, 2013 02:01 PM (imJu1)

53 Val? Gimme one of them Cuban cigars. Think I'll put my smelly feet up on the desk and relax.

Posted by: Prez'nit 404 at December 07, 2013 02:02 PM (Dwehj)

54

My friends, you have nothing to fear with Barack Obama in the White House.

Posted by: John McCain at December 07, 2013 02:02 PM (Pr6hk)

55 Been to Cuba on fishing trips three times . Amazing to see doctors driving cabs cause it pays better from the tips . The fishing guides were basically rock stars . Minimum 40 CUC's per guide a day , more for permit or tarpon . They literally made the equivalent of a years pay in one week .

Posted by: Bill D. Cat at December 07, 2013 02:02 PM (XWw96)

56 "Education in state-run schools was compulsory. And the education was heavily laced with indoctrination of communist principles.”"

Contrast that with US Public education where attendance is compulsory and the curriculum subtly laced with progressive principles. 

Posted by: O.I.C. Now at December 07, 2013 02:03 PM (cPX8e)

57 So would it be safe to say that Fidel was a 'community organizer' in his time?

Posted by: Adam Smith's Invisible Pimp Hand at December 07, 2013 02:03 PM (Pr6hk)

58 Elian clearly knows which side his bread is buttered on these days.  If he didn't say that shit, he'd become a tragic Havana traffic fatality statistic.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at December 07, 2013 02:03 PM (UVadJ)

Posted by: Adam Smith's Invisible Pimp Hand at December 07, 2013 02:04 PM (Pr6hk)

60 My prediction?  P A I N

Posted by: Barry 'Clubber Lang' Soetoro at December 07, 2013 02:06 PM (Pr6hk)

61

"Education in state-run schools was compulsory. And the education was heavily laced with indoctrination of communist principles.”"

Contrast that with US Public education where attendance is compulsory and the curriculum subtly laced with progressive principles.

Posted by: O.I.C. Now at December 07, 2013 06:03 PM (cPX8e)

 

 

What is the difference?

Communist = Progressive

Posted by: rd at December 07, 2013 02:07 PM (D+lxs)

62 Cuber! The miracle of the redistribution of wealth!

Posted by: Prez'nit 404 at December 07, 2013 02:09 PM (Dwehj)

63 So when do we takeover Cuba like we did Hawaii? Get some casino owners with the dough to bankroll a Marine landing party. We already have a base there. Just like the old days.

Posted by: Tobacco Road at December 07, 2013 02:09 PM (4Mv1T)

64 41. Yes, though flagrantly ignored by private interests, officially the US still has a trade/travel embargo vs. Cuba. It's personal, CIA agenda. Not that our embargo ever stopped other nations from trading with Cuba. And not that our embargo hurt Castro or any big wig in Cuba. Only the commoners, the 99% whom so many here decry recognizing with that PC/non-PC numerical stat. Hell, we fought the Korean War to prevent China's communist influence from permeating Asia. And yet Kissinger/Nixon "suddenly" gave China MOST favored trade nation status. We fought a war against Vietnam, we suffering approx. 52,000 killed and 25,000 more permanently disabled American servicemen, and yet the USA government has been trading with Vietnam for years and have signed a trade treaty with Vietnam, our mutual intent to thwart China's dominance regionally in ocean routes and trade. It being the commemoration of the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor today, look where our nations are today. So there is no legitimate reason for punishing all Cubans for the longevity of the Castro regime. Except to show how punitive our government is whenever a convenient scapegoat arises.

Posted by: panzernashorn at December 07, 2013 02:11 PM (MhA4j)

65 So when do we takeover Cuba like we did Hawaii? Get some casino owners with the dough to bankroll a Marine landing party. We already have a base there. Just like the old days Do that, and make the island into a refuge for conservatives.

Posted by: Grey Fox at December 07, 2013 02:11 PM (oVpY/)

66 Elian's has become the perfect young pioneer , just as Steadman wanted to, when they rendered him.

Posted by: jeffrey pelt at December 07, 2013 02:11 PM (Jsiw/)

67 I AM THE LAW!

Posted by: Judge Kravitz at December 07, 2013 02:12 PM (2vl2+)

68 So when do we takeover Cuba like we did Hawaii? Yeah, I blame Bush 41 for that. When the Soviet Union collapsed, it should have been payback time for a several countries that taunted us when the bear was at their back. Cuba and Iran being primary.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 02:12 PM (QupBk)

69 Oh, and the Saudi are expelling millions of East African and Southeast Asian guest workers.

Wanna guess where they end up?

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at December 07, 2013 02:12 PM (ZPrif)

70 Cuba never did find the end of the pipe.  Totalitarianism is like that.

Posted by: Andy Dufresne at December 07, 2013 02:12 PM (Pr6hk)

71 Do that, and make the island into a refuge for conservatives. Posted by: Grey Fox ---------------------- I Like It.

Posted by: Tobacco Road at December 07, 2013 02:13 PM (4Mv1T)

72 58 Contrast that with US Public education where attendance is compulsory and the curriculum subtly laced with progressive principles.

"subtly?"

Posted by: Splunge at December 07, 2013 02:14 PM (bKA83)

73 Elian clearly knows which side his bread is buttered on these days. If he didn't say that shit, he'd become a tragic Havana traffic fatality statistic.
==

Yep.

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 02:14 PM (HjPtV)

74 This dipstick Dawkins needs to be shot.  Or at least set on fire.

Pumping gas.  'Here honey let me flic my Bic'
*poof*  Wife starts running away.
Retard pulls the nozzle out of gas tank and sprays the back of his fleeing wife who turns into a flaming person shape.

http://tinyurl.com/lhvg6k5

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2013 02:14 PM (kFy87)

75 Cuba is inherently a geopolitical threat. Having a large island just off the coast like that will always be a threat.

Same with Taiwan.

Just like with Taiwan and Cuba, the temptation to align with a foreign power that opposes the mainland is very, very strong. There is no better place for the foreign power rival to establish a presence than a large island right off your coast.

If I were China I would want to take over Taiwan.
And the US should never have let Cuba go after capturing it 100 years ago from Spain.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at December 07, 2013 02:16 PM (ZPrif)

76 What did Castro/USA have in common with al-Qaeda/USA? Originally, the US funded each rebel organization, expecting the facility of manipulation. Cuba has yet to reach the special status US politicians have rewarded al-Qaeda as ALLIES in the war of terror.

Posted by: panzernashorn at December 07, 2013 02:16 PM (MhA4j)

77 Lois Parshley has some interesting reports from Cuba http://tinyurl.com/8p2mc2z http://tinyurl.com/lw3zzqu

Posted by: Machias Privateer at December 07, 2013 02:17 PM (0c0fX)

78 So there is no legitimate reason for punishing all Cubans for the longevity of the Castro regime. Except to show how punitive our government is whenever a convenient scapegoat arises.
==

We aren't punishing the Cubans.  Castro and his butchers are persecuting them.  Whenever I see a LIB post, I think "Really?"

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 02:17 PM (HjPtV)

79 If only Fidel had learned to put serious creases on his uniforms

Posted by: David Brooks at December 07, 2013 02:18 PM (Pr6hk)

80 I remember Barbara Walters talking about how she was chums with Castro and he cooked her a lobster dinner in her apartment in NYC on a visit. Bahba Wawah appears to be a fan.

Posted by: Sphynx at December 07, 2013 02:19 PM (cll/q)

81 Now Mister Totten, tell me more about the designs of this prison

Posted by: Kathleen Sebilius at December 07, 2013 02:22 PM (Pr6hk)

82 "In North Korea, the electric fence, the barbed wire, is in people's minds. They have been very effective in making the outside world appear very, very dangerous and unpredictable."

They now love Dear Leader.

There is not a chamber in Hell hot enough for the people who set up, or run, or support, or turn a blind eye to such evil.

Posted by: Brown Line at December 07, 2013 02:22 PM (a5bF3)

83 And don't get me started with Hollywood and Che Guevera.

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 02:22 PM (HjPtV)

84 Tell me more about the wonders of State run medicine.

Posted by: Kathleen Sebilius at December 07, 2013 02:23 PM (Pr6hk)

85 Guantanamo Bay should be turned into a capitalist hot bed.  Fast food places with signs 50ft tall that light up at night.  And drone delivery of course of Domino pizza or a Big Mac ...

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2013 02:24 PM (kFy87)

86 mrp "We" are not punishing the Cubans. Not you. Not I. But since the Bay of Pigs CIA fiasco, our political leadership maintains an extremely punitive embargo that has economically constrained the Cuban economy, which has been the point of the embargo all along. The Cuban economy sucks ... Totten's exposition. Yet Castro never suffered due to our embargo. My first point. Whether Castro persecuted his people or not was not and is not the basis for the US trade embargo imposed v. Cuba. So, your point? Yet we have no such embargo against Red China or VietNam. My second point. Think as you like, as will I.

Posted by: panzernashorn at December 07, 2013 02:24 PM (MhA4j)

87 We will bury you.  After you finish destroying yourselves.  Thank you Mister Soetoro.

Posted by: Nikita Krushchev at December 07, 2013 02:25 PM (Pr6hk)

88 #92

The Cubans can trade with whomever they want.  They can trade with Russian, with PRC, Vietnam, Sweden.  Anyone but us.

Cuba's economic problems have have very little to do with the US embargo.  It has a great deal to do with having a totalitarian Communist government that crushes dissent and destroys any free market threat to Castro's regime.

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 02:29 PM (HjPtV)

89 This makes me think of how the DDR (East Germany) changed after the wall fell. There is a great set of photos that someone linked to here awhile ago  (before and after) at the link.

http://tinyurl.com/7wg6vjf

Posted by: The Hickster at December 07, 2013 02:30 PM (TI3xG)

90 Same with Taiwan.

Taiwan 30 years ago maybe.  Not now.  They trade, Taiwan has factories in the PRC, there's open travel, etc and both side are moving towards each other politically.  The open hostility is largely gone.  I predict reunification within 20 years as soon as the old hardliner KMT types have died off.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at December 07, 2013 02:31 PM (UVadJ)

91 Sorry for the bad grammar.  Castro is a hot button for me.

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 02:32 PM (HjPtV)

92 I wonder what Sean Penn thinks about this.

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 02:33 PM (8lmkt)

93 "I wonder what Sean Penn thinks about this."

May God bless Maria Conchita Alonso.

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 02:34 PM (HjPtV)

94 #95 "The Cubans can trade with whomever they want. They can trade with Russian, with PRC, Vietnam, Sweden. Anyone but us." That's what I originally posted, as well, mrp. And yes, as I wrote top post (from Cuba, NorK, to Africa comment), communist regimes presume the right to tax 100% in order to only return to citizens bare survival means. But if you still maintain that the US trade embargo v. Cuba has NOT by any significant means stunted the Cuban economy, hence the population of Cuba, then you and I have a difference of opinion. And if you're calling me a LIB, then consider your own response. "Really?"

Posted by: panzernashorn at December 07, 2013 02:35 PM (MhA4j)

95 Sean Penn thinks? I doubt it. He just feels and reacts based on those feelings. No thought required.

Posted by: Epobirs at December 07, 2013 02:36 PM (bPxS6)

96 A lot of political influence in the US revolves around S.U.G.A.R.

There's some heavy hitters in the South FL sugar industry that would effectively be out of business if Cuban sugar starts to flow in. 

Follow the money

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at December 07, 2013 02:36 PM (UVadJ)

97 "And if you're calling me a LIB, then consider your own response. "Really?"

No, I didn't call you a lib, I was referring to people of the Let It Burn persuasion.  Sorry for the confusion.

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 02:37 PM (HjPtV)

98 Peaches, his little red cup is heart broken.

Purp so the Dragon of China will slowly ingest Taiwan.  Why not with US military power in decline, so adapt to living with the Dragon.

Nixon had geo-political reasons to re-awaken China to the greater world around it.  But like the US forcing open the closed gates of Japan, there have been consequences.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2013 02:37 PM (kFy87)

99 the restraints in Cuba being mental - the prison is essentially in people's minds now.
-
Is that anything like a dagger of the mind?

Posted by: WalrusRex at December 07, 2013 02:40 PM (E+uky)

100 Yet we have no such embargo against Red China or VietNam. My second point. You do know that Kissinger's China ploy was designed to get China to break away from the USSR and that worked, right? Russia could not count on a Chinese back up, and had to spend more on defense, which lead to it's collapse. Vietnam was recognized by Clinton as a pay back to his donors that wanted cheap labor, read Nike. So, your reference of these to Cuba makes no sense. Sorry.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 02:41 PM (0FSuD)

101 There's some heavy hitters in the South FL sugar industry that would effectively be out of business if Cuban sugar starts to flow in.

Follow the money

Purp
===
Eh, that's pretty much a generic tariff. US sugar producers are far more skeert of Uruguayan and Paraguayan exportation.  The sugar industry in those countries is state-of-the-art and ready to go.  I once looked up the numbers and whoaaa ...

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 02:41 PM (HjPtV)

102 Its an embargo, not a blockade. 

I'm expecting Obama to make a move with regards to Cuba,  he is going to need a shit-ton of "doctors" willing to work for $100/month under Obamacare.

Posted by: Jean at December 07, 2013 02:42 PM (pxx5O)

103 104. So far as I'm concerned, the "let it burn" and the "deserve" comments so frequently and numbingly repeated are applied in judgment without thorough thought. Easy enough to paint is generalities. Back to scapegoats.

Posted by: panzernashorn at December 07, 2013 02:42 PM (MhA4j)

104 38 They call me Cuban Pete
I'm the king of the rhumba beat
When I play the maracas I go
Chick chicky boom chick chicky boom

Any relation to Masturbatin' Pete?

Posted by: pep at December 07, 2013 02:43 PM (6TB1Z)

105 Jean, residency programs?

Posted by: panzernashorn at December 07, 2013 02:43 PM (MhA4j)

106 This makes me think of how the DDR (East Germany) changed after the wall fell. There is a great set of photos that someone linked to here awhile ago (before and after) at the link.

http://tinyurl.com/7wg6vjf

Posted by: The Hickster at December 07, 2013 06:30 PM (TI3xG)

Very impressive.

Posted by: WalrusRex at December 07, 2013 02:44 PM (E+uky)

107 So far as I'm concerned, the "let it burn" and the "deserve" comments so frequently and numbingly repeated
==

You can add "whatever".

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 02:44 PM (HjPtV)

108 Purp so the Dragon of China will slowly ingest Taiwan.

They're kinda swallowing each other in a curious way.  The economic liberalization on the mainland has been pretty dramatic.  The PRC saw the economic miracle in Taiwan and decided they wanted some.  I don't think they're dumb enough to wreck it.  They'll find a way to make Taiwan a quasi-independent province with significant representation in the national govt.

Its a lot easier to reach agreement when both sides actually want agreement and unification.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at December 07, 2013 02:44 PM (UVadJ)

109 Isn't HFCS the real boot on the neck of the sugar industry? Cough..farmbill..cough.

Posted by: Ostral B Heratic at December 07, 2013 02:46 PM (2vl2+)

110 107. Nip Sip, you're a baby to think that China and Russia were buddies during the Cold War. Far be it. Kissinger's China deal was for global-corporatist business profits, which directly crushed American small businesses; and Kissinger's deal has subsequently evolved to exporting/"outsourcing" jobs today. How's them apples, kiddo?

Posted by: panzernashorn at December 07, 2013 02:46 PM (MhA4j)

111 Cuba's economic problems have have very little to do with the US embargo. It has a great deal to do with having a totalitarian Communist government that crushes dissent and destroys any free market threat to Castro's regime.

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 06:29 PM (HjPtV)


Exactly. The U.S. trade embargo really means diddly squat to the overall state of the Cuban economy. It's the Communism keeping them down. Full stop.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 07, 2013 02:47 PM (8Fl6F)

112 I always thought Krushchev had JFK whacked...the Cuban Missile thing had to piss him off, no matter what kind of deal they cut.

Posted by: dumbartist at December 07, 2013 02:47 PM (ahBY0)

113 The sugar industry in those countries is state-of-the-art and ready to go. I once looked up the numbers and whoaaa...

That only lasts until the Cubans get modernized, then the distance/cost factors would start to favor them over anyone else.  My assumption is the US is too stupid to allow its sugar industry to compete against that kinda thing because "living wage" "income equality" etc. 

We'd allow it to outright become extinct before allowing it to compete.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at December 07, 2013 02:49 PM (UVadJ)

114 Purp, I was reading a couple years ago that Taiwan is effectively a fascist government complete with thought police. If that were the case, all the more interesting "fusion" of Marxists, left/right as one.

Posted by: panzernashorn at December 07, 2013 02:49 PM (MhA4j)

115 I'd be surprised if the US Cuban population didn't return with their wealth, given the chance, to exploit their economic groundfloor investment opportunity in Cuba, given strong measure of economic security from getting "nationalized" after the fact of sinking their money there.

Posted by: panzernashorn at December 07, 2013 02:52 PM (MhA4j)

116 I just wonder if Americans will actually start shooting or if we will have been completely pacified by the time the low information voters realize that they elected a fool leftist totalitarianism comes here.

Posted by: traye at December 07, 2013 05:55 PM (mLcRC)

----------------

Fixed that for you.

Posted by: Darth Randall at December 07, 2013 02:52 PM (Zswg6)

117 But if you still maintain that the US trade embargo v. Cuba has NOT by any significant means stunted the Cuban economy, hence the population of Cuba, then you and I have a difference of opinion.

/snippage

Posted by: panzernashorn

 

 

I maintain that Cuba can and has had free trade with any other country in the Carribean and it has not improved their economy one bit. US goods flow through those countries and into Cuba rather than directly from the US.

 

It is the goverment there that has/is causing the persistant poverty, not the US embargo, which I whole heartedly approve of.

Posted by: Gmac-Waiting for the impending collapse of-This movie at December 07, 2013 02:54 PM (4pjhs)

118 40 I just wonder if Americans will actually start shooting or if we will have been completely pacified by the time full leftist totalitarianism comes here.

Posted by: traye at December 07, 2013 05:55 PM (mLcRC)

 

 

---------

 

 

I came into this world kicking, screaming, and covered in someone else's blood.  I have no problem going out the same way.

Posted by: madamemayhem at December 07, 2013 02:55 PM (S2RnE)

119 The f'in embargo, not the damn goverment.

Posted by: Gmac-Waiting for the impending collapse of-Castro at December 07, 2013 02:55 PM (4pjhs)

120 'That only lasts until the Cubans get modernized, then the distance/cost factors would start to favor them over anyone else."

We trade with the Russians, but Western investment in Russia is a bit thin on the ground.  Because galactic-scale larceny.

The Cubans?  hahahahaha  ... Studebakers.

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 02:56 PM (HjPtV)

121 118. The U.S. trade embargo really means diddly squat to the overall state of the Cuban economy. It's the Communism keeping them down. Full stop. Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 07, 2013 06:47 PM (8Fl6F) Consider again the Kissinger/Nixon economic boon to Red China when the US trade embargo v. China was lifted. Also, when there's money getting spent, IF you believe in Reagan's trickle down economic policy, there would at least be more crumbs available for the Cubans working for their living. Granted, not all are, all circumstances given (communist lack of personal achievement via effort, and generational welfare doing the same).

Posted by: panzernashorn at December 07, 2013 02:57 PM (MhA4j)

122 117 107. Nip Sip, you're a baby to think that China and Russia were buddies during the Cold War. Far be it. I am not a baby, I taught US History. It is you that are missing the point. I don't have time to go over all the articles, but the USSR was deathly afraid of China's friendship with the USA. Here's a start for you: http://tinyurl.com/klmgjg2 One more: http://tinyurl.com/mu9h7xv

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 02:58 PM (0FSuD)

123 I think there's too much "chaos capitalism" in Taiwan for any notion of traditional Fascism to extend very deeply into the economic arena.

Years ago the KMT was fairly authoritarian and actively suppressed alternative parties, but that's softened considerably of late.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at December 07, 2013 02:59 PM (UVadJ)

124 40 I just wonder if Americans will actually start shooting or if we will have been completely pacified by the time full leftist totalitarianism comes here. Posted by: traye

To paraphrase a SOF guy I know,

"They are evil, not stupid".

Do you know of a single leftist totalitarian who supports the individual right to own and bear arms?

Do you know of a single leftist totalitarian who prefers to call the "Affordable Care Act" the "Take all the life savings from the typical racist white grannies because they will just waste it on expensive operations to live a little longer act"?
(aside from the New Black Panther Party)

I could go on but that ADD is peaking....

Posted by: Burnt Toast at December 07, 2013 03:03 PM (80R0X)

125 124. Gmac Six of one. Half dozen of the other. I've posted that Cuba trades with other nations. Btw, think again about the cost of an item increasing each time it passes through the hands of another "middle man". Sure, Cuba gets US goods, but not directly. Increased price, no money for purchase. Get a grip. There's all angles involved. When I wrote that our politicians' policies can be punitive, how else would any here describe the IRS dealings with Tea Party tax-exempt organizations; or with the Justice Dept. selection of cases to prosecute v. the State of Arizona, etc.? There's nothing "righteous" about politics. Self righteous, yes. Vanity, all is vanity. No?

Posted by: panzernashorn at December 07, 2013 03:04 PM (MhA4j)

126 Communism does not merely impoverish, enslave, and ruin. It also succeeds in abolishing hope and crushing the human spirit/soul. Later, all. God bless. :-)

Posted by: Mirror-Universe Mitt Romney at December 07, 2013 03:04 PM (M8OWQ)

127 You know what would scare the hell out of the Cuban government?

A week-long visit to Cuba by Pope Francis.

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 03:05 PM (HjPtV)

128 Why do these threads devolve into name calling amongst the Horde? All you grownups please act like it. OR I'LL STOP. THIS. CAR. RIGHT. NOW.

Posted by: Tobacco Road at December 07, 2013 03:05 PM (4Mv1T)

129 but Western investment in Russia is a bit thin on the ground. Because galactic-scale larceny.

Putin has been working on that.  I think he knows it has to get tamped down if widespread foreign investment is to happen -- and Russia needs foreign investment to develop a lot of its resources at a greater than glacial pace.

The corruption is starting to make him look bad, and when you make Vlad look bad, bad things gonna happen to you.  They just created an anti-corruption agency reporting directly to the president.

http://en.itar-tass.com/opinions/1598

"Oleg Plokhoy, 45, was appointed head of the new anti-corruption agency. His surname is translated into English as ‘bad’, giving corrupt officials an unambiguous hint: “Nothing good is in store for bribe takers”. His biography merely confirms the latent message. He graduated from the KGB Higher School, served in the Soviet and Russian security services and holds the title of Honored Lawyer of Russia."

If I were a garden variety corrupt'oid scumbag, I don't think I'd want a couple of ex-KGB types coming after me.  The beds in gulags are hard.


Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at December 07, 2013 03:08 PM (UVadJ)

130 129. Perhaps I misunderstood what your point was. Politicians/governments play against each other push-shove all the time. Of course we used the distrust between China and Russia to gain leverage in global affairs. My point remains, which you validate. Post WWII, throughout the Cold War, China and Russia were at absolutely diametric odds with each other. Russia had been the Stalin global power when the relatively new upstart Mao was amassing.

Posted by: panzernashorn at December 07, 2013 03:09 PM (MhA4j)

131 Because TR some people have their pet hobby horses that are just as constricting as the mental razor wire that Aussie posits.   Its their safety blanky that keeps them warm in their delusions.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2013 03:10 PM (kFy87)

132 14 @14 D-Lamp "We know from Michael Moore that Cuba has first rate medical facilities and that the Island is a workers Paradise!!" I read an article a few years back that MM's movie was shown to a bunch of Cuban doctors who promptly walked out of theater after about 30 mintues. They expalined that the hospital fat Mike was showing was only for top Party members and NOT the the Cuban public.

Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at December 07, 2013 03:12 PM (L9Bqi)

133 One reason for the Cuban embargo is that Castro expropriated a lot of American owned properties and company assets, without even a figleaf of compensation.
 
He shouldn't of done that.

Posted by: GnuBreed at December 07, 2013 03:12 PM (cHZB7)

134 If I were made Queen of the USA, I'd authorize a free trip to any US adult to anywhere in the world they want to live, in exchange for giving up their US citizenship.  Think Cuba, or any other place is utopia, or at least better than America?  You can go.  I'm sure we would come out net ahead, even using taxpayer funds for the travel.

Oh, and I'm not an evil dictator type.  Those who remain can still bitch about the good old USA all they want.  They'll just have to be prepared to answer the question, "So, why are you still here?"

/dream over

Posted by: Mayday at December 07, 2013 03:12 PM (eHc+1)

135 Given the Totten thread here at ace, Michael's no longer in the dog house? About time. Sun set. Taking US Flag down from the door wreath. 'Night, all.

Posted by: panzernashorn at December 07, 2013 03:14 PM (MhA4j)

136 We need a football thread. Big night of ball coming.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 03:15 PM (QupBk)

137 Ohio State better take care of business because Auburn is playing like they would like to get there.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 03:16 PM (QupBk)

138 @20 backhoe "If that were really true people would not risk their lives- and their children's- to escape it." Including Supreme Leaders own daughter Alina Fernández Revuelta. She gave a speech at Ohio University a few years ago which was promptly ignored by the MSM.

Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at December 07, 2013 03:17 PM (L9Bqi)

139 134 You know what would scare the hell out of the Cuban government? A week-long visit to Cuba by Pope Francis. Not really Pope Benedict XVI visited for three days. Meh.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 03:17 PM (0FSuD)

140 Here's a bit of irony. I had lunch today with a friend. Pearl Harbor Day led to discussion of FDR, which led to JFK, which led to Oswald, which led to Cuba. My friend said that he had visited Cuba in 1969. I was very surprised and asked what in the world he was doing there. He explained that it was not voluntary, but that he had been on a Eastern flight bound for Miami when it was hijacked. He (they) spent two days there as 'guests'. When the Cubans finally released them, Eastern was billed $100,000 for their 'accommodations'. He had interesting comments to make about the experience.

Posted by: Mike Hammer at December 07, 2013 03:18 PM (aDwsi)

141 The Ohio State Buckeyes will be National Champions this year. So it is written.

Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at December 07, 2013 03:18 PM (L9Bqi)

142 One reason for the Cuban embargo is that Castro expropriated a lot of American owned properties and company assets, without even a figleaf of compensation. -------------- There is also the matter of the 10,000 or so political prisoners.

Posted by: Mike Hammer at December 07, 2013 03:19 PM (aDwsi)

143 This SEC game is getting out of hand. Wonder what the over under was? 87 points the 4th quarter just started?

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 03:20 PM (0FSuD)

144 140 One reason for the Cuban embargo is that Castro expropriated a lot of American owned properties and company assets, without even a figleaf of compensation. He shouldn't of done that. Posted by: GnuBreed at December 07, 2013 07:12 PM (cHZB7) Pretty sure he did that to a lot of other countries too which is why they are not all that interested in investing resources and equipment into Cuba. Why build something there if the government is just going to take it from you with no compensation.

Posted by: Buzzion at December 07, 2013 03:22 PM (LI48c)

145 Not really Pope Benedict XVI visited for three days.

Meh. Posted by: Nip Sip
===
Benedict's visit had a positive effect.  But a visit from a native Spanish-speaking Pope, the first pope from the Americas?  Something on the order of JPII's first visit to Poland impact, I think.

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 03:22 PM (HjPtV)

146 We need a football thread. Big night of ball coming.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 07:15 PM (QupBk)


Yes, we do.  And that Mizzou-Auburn game was a barn-burner. 

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 03:23 PM (8lmkt)

147 We don't let political prisoners bother us with other countries, I don't see why Cuba should be the exception. 

The US is holding political prisoners now too.  Not nearly as many, but a few -- like the bad movie guy.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at December 07, 2013 03:23 PM (UVadJ)

148 149 One reason for the Cuban embargo is that Castro expropriated a lot of American owned properties and company assets, without even a figleaf of compensation. True and it is a law. Helm/Burton act requires reparation before embargo is lifted and prevents the executive branch from lifting the embargo. http://tinyurl.com/73w38xn

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 03:24 PM (0FSuD)

149 I think "the bad movie guy"  was set free.

Posted by: Ronster at December 07, 2013 03:25 PM (Rru72)

150 Benedict's visit had a positive effect. But a visit from a native Spanish-speaking Pope, the first pope from the Americas? Something on the order of JPII's first visit to Poland impact, I think. Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 07:22 PM (HjPtV) Wow, never thought about that. Good point!

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 03:25 PM (0FSuD)

151 Today I received my copy of "American Betrayal" by Diana West. I have a feeling that's a very important book, based on the excerpts I have read at Amazon. I won't have time to read it in time to post about it in the Sunday book thread, but hopefully next week. Here is a post about the criticism of the book that I read last weekend at Gates of Vienna: http://tinyurl.com/lmeast8 The book is certainly making some people uncomfortable, to say the least.

Posted by: rickl at December 07, 2013 03:26 PM (sdi6R)

152 Chavez nationalized a bunch of stuff with scant compensation too.  The VE oil business is falling apart so bad, PDVSA just got $1B from Gazprom for some new development and debt retirement.

http://tinyurl.com/qdqheb9

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at December 07, 2013 03:28 PM (UVadJ)

153 Wow, never thought about that. Good point! Posted by: Nip Sip

Francis plunging into the crowd.  "Be not afraid!".

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 03:29 PM (HjPtV)

154 @159 And they have signed an agreement to allow Russian ships to refuel and dock there. The "Monroe Doctrine" is dead.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 03:29 PM (0FSuD)

155 >> There is also the matter of the 10,000 or so political prisoners.
 
China had and has lots of political prisoners and we are doing a booming business with them.
 
It's probably true that the game changes when the country is too big to fail, so to speak. There's just a lot of bad blood between Cuba and the US; incidentally, TFG is trying to relax the Cuban sanctions. But he has to get that through Congress (or does he?).

Posted by: GnuBreed at December 07, 2013 03:29 PM (cHZB7)

156 Francis plunging into the crowd. "Be not afraid!". Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 07:29 PM (HjPtV) Yeah, but don't forget he speaks Argentinean Spanish, which sound a lot like French. Really.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 03:31 PM (0FSuD)

157 O/T, sorry. I receive Powerline blog emails everyday. Today there is a color video of Pearl Harbor attack. Where should I post URL?

Posted by: Carol at December 07, 2013 03:32 PM (z4WKX)

158 Who's gonna enforce the "embargo"?  Eric Holder?

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at December 07, 2013 03:32 PM (UVadJ)

159 @165 Do you know how to do a tiny? If so just post that.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 03:32 PM (0FSuD)

160 Yeah, but don't forget he speaks Argentinean Spanish, which sound a lot like French.

Really. Posted by: Nip Sip

And he's a Jesuit.  The Castros would be fools to let him in. But would they dare keep him out?

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 03:33 PM (HjPtV)

161 @165 I got you covered. http://tinyurl.com/k3hksxs

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 03:33 PM (0FSuD)

162 But he has to get that through Congress (or does he?). Posted by: GnuBreed at December 07, 2013 07:29 PM (cHZB7) Depends on the wording of the law (Disclaimer: Not that it means much these days). But he'll run into Bob Menendez, who is pro-embargo.

Posted by: Vendette at December 07, 2013 03:34 PM (MpP9p)

163 @67 Grey Fox "Do that, and make the island into a refuge for conservatives." Taiwan with better weather? Pass. We fight here. As Mark Steyn once said, there is no fall back position after America.

Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at December 07, 2013 03:35 PM (L9Bqi)

164 @163 See @155 Helms-Burton Act. Yes he does have to get it through congress.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 03:36 PM (0FSuD)

165 Here's the link to Pearl Harbor in color (link to Powerline): http://tinyurl.com/k3hksxs

Posted by: Vendette at December 07, 2013 03:36 PM (MpP9p)

166 Yes, Nip Sip, I do know how to post tiny URL but I see you did it for me. Thanks. Carol I didnÂ’t think I should post in this about Cuba.

Posted by: Carol at December 07, 2013 03:36 PM (z4WKX)

167

113 This makes me think of how the DDR (East Germany)
changed after the wall fell. There is a great set of photos that someone
linked to here awhile ago (before and after) at the link.

http://tinyurl.com/7wg6vjf


Posted by: The Hickster at December 07, 2013 06:30 PM (TI3xG)
Very impressive.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

What a great set of transformative photos! Several years ago, I got to visit Dresden and Leipzig, where I saw many of the "afters", some of the "in-progress", and a whole bunch of the "haven't been fixed yet" - the latter especially in many parts of Leipzig.

In Leipzig, it was shocking to see how many old rundown buildings had trees growing out of them, and others that were still clearly not fixed since they had been bombed. We heard many were that way because of land claims - either by former owners before Communism or former Jewish owners before the Nazis....

Communism is anything but a pretty sight.

Posted by: after the fall at December 07, 2013 03:38 PM (5Q1ZU)

168 Can anyone believe this SEC game. How many points over a 100 do you think they will score?

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 03:39 PM (0FSuD)

169 Can anyone believe this SEC game. I'm starting to think that Auburn could hang with FSU, scoring wise.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 03:39 PM (QupBk)

170 159 >> Chavez nationalized a bunch of stuff with scant compensation too.
 
Yeah, he did maybe 50 cents on the dollar if I recall correctly. His replacement asshole, whose name I haven't bothered to learn, just pulled a seizure stunt on a US oil repair rig.
 
So things with Venezuela could get a lot more interesting soon. Oh, and Argentina is acting up again on the Falklands...which sucks for Britain, since they decommissioned their aircraft carrier and can't count on US help with The Purple Lips Of Doom in charge here.

Posted by: GnuBreed at December 07, 2013 03:40 PM (cHZB7)

171 Posted by: rickl at December 07, 2013 07:26 PM (sdi6R)

wow

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 03:41 PM (8lmkt)

172 @113 Most of the new hotels in Berlin are being built on the old East side. Land was cheaper.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 03:42 PM (0FSuD)

173 I'm starting to think that Auburn could hang with FSUDuke, scoring wise. Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 07:39 PM (QupBk) FIFY. I know I am dreaming

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 03:44 PM (0FSuD)

174

December 7th passed with nary a word from the Afurmatif Akzhun Presnit. Not. One. Fuckin. Word.

 

I hate that guy and everything he represents.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at December 07, 2013 03:46 PM (gaOtJ)

175 Big night of ball coming.

That usually goes on the ONT.

Posted by: HeatherRadish™ at December 07, 2013 03:47 PM (hO8IJ)

176 182 December 7th passed with nary a word from the Afurmatif Akzhun Presnit. Not. One. Fuckin. Word. Well, the day does not "live in infamy" in Kenyan. Get over it.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 03:47 PM (0FSuD)

177

I spent 20 years in the Navy and have seen some of the worst $hit holes in the world in the Near and Far East and I have condensed my view on whether a Country is First, Second or third world based on one thing, Toilet Paper.  You can hide a lot of things and put paint on a monkey and call it an elephant, but if you can't get toilet paper right, you are a third World Country.

 

I once stood and watched the line to go into China from Macau.  Without fail almost every person in that line going back into China was carrying large clear plastic trash bags filled with toilet paper.  That right there told me I did not want to spend much time in China.

Posted by: Registered Voter at December 07, 2013 03:48 PM (0DC/m)

178 December 7th passed with nary a word from the Afurmatif Akzhun Presnit. Not. One. Fuckin. Word.

To be completely fair, he probably didn't have any appropriate selfies . . . although, growing up in Hawaii, there's really no excuse for that.

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 03:48 PM (8lmkt)

179 I hate that guy and everything he represents. Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at December 07, 2013 07:46 PM (gaOtJ) Most of us here do too!

Posted by: Carol at December 07, 2013 03:48 PM (z4WKX)

180 The Purple Lips Of Doom in charge here.

Posted by: GnuBreed at December 07, 2013 07:40 PM (cHZB7)


Oh, no, you ditn't . . .   roflmao

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 03:49 PM (8lmkt)

181 So I just read Steyn's weekend piece over at NRO. If you decide to do likewise, move any sharp objects or firearms outside of your reach. 'Cause you'll use them on yourself. Egad, it's depressing.

Posted by: Tobacco Road at December 07, 2013 03:50 PM (4Mv1T)

182 December 7th passed with nary a word from the Afurmatif Akzhun Presnit. Not. One. Fuckin. Word.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting him to wake up before noon and notice the date.

Has he said anything the last five Decembers?  I honestly don't remember.

Posted by: HeatherRadish™ at December 07, 2013 03:50 PM (hO8IJ)

183 188 Peaches, Heh me I'm charmed the press doesn't grasp PurpleLips McMomjeans is gaming it here.

Posted by: sven10077 at December 07, 2013 03:51 PM (9jfyN)

184 CrotchetyOldJarhead, I agree it's disgraceful that he didn't mark the anniversary but my guess is if he had it would have been too much of his usual I, me, my stuff and pissed me off. Maybe it's just as well he didn't acknowledge it.

Posted by: Retread at December 07, 2013 03:51 PM (cHwk5)

185 Didn't East Germans also have trouble adjusting, psychologically speaking, after the wall came down?

Posted by: Dr. Varno at December 07, 2013 03:52 PM (V4CBV)

186 Shaka...

Posted by: Dr. Varno at December 07, 2013 03:53 PM (V4CBV)

187 192 Retread, Er uh I'd like to shoutout to er Isoroku Yamamoto this evening and remind eveyone that uh Pearl Harbor day does not uh just Memorialize a sneak attack on America but ah also celbrates a Japanese win.... Tthere are those uh Happy Pearl Harbor Day.... //Empetor Manly Throw McMomjeans

Posted by: sven10077 at December 07, 2013 03:54 PM (9jfyN)

188 TD Auburn on the first play after turnover on downs. I think this one is iced.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 03:54 PM (QupBk)

189 And that about wraps it up for Auburn.

Posted by: Vendette at December 07, 2013 03:55 PM (MpP9p)

190 101 points scored.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 03:55 PM (QupBk)

191 Very un-SEC.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 03:56 PM (QupBk)

192 @185 Registered Voter ".. but if you can't get toilet paper right, you are a third World Country." I have an old work acquintance who defected from Czeckslovakia in 1982. He told me one year the central planning commity forgot to budget for toliet paper back in the 70's, so it become an underground commidity. His family was spared only because they had an aunt who was a maid at a hotel in Prague where westerners stayed.

Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at December 07, 2013 03:56 PM (L9Bqi)

193 189 Tobacco Road, Indeed as I said this am "thank God I shave with safety razors"

Posted by: sven10077 at December 07, 2013 03:57 PM (9jfyN)

194 He told me one year the central planning commity forgot to budget for toliet paper back in the 70's It was my understanding that Rudé právo made a fine bog.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 03:58 PM (QupBk)

195 GnuBreed, you mean Christina Kirchner finally got released from the hospital after she took a header down the stairs?  And thinks its three years ago?

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2013 03:58 PM (kFy87)

196 Tthere are those uh Happy Pearl Harbor Day....

//Empetor Manly Throw McMomjeans

Posted by: sven10077 at December 07, 2013 07:54 PM (9jfyN)


Yep, that would have done it.

Posted by: Retread at December 07, 2013 03:59 PM (cHwk5)

197 Auburn is piling on to the point where I wonder if they are still of momjeans's side of the fence.  Let's face it, this is not fair.


Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 04:00 PM (8lmkt)

198 192 CrotchetyOldJarhead, I agree it's disgraceful that he didn't mark the anniversary but my guess is if he had it would have been too much of his usual I, me, my stuff and pissed me off. Maybe it's just as well he didn't acknowledge it. Posted by: Retread at December 07, 2013 07:51 PM (cHwk5) Yeah, he would have tweeted a picture of himself looking at a flag at half-staff or something.

Posted by: rickl at December 07, 2013 04:00 PM (sdi6R)

199 rickl, jeez, I've been reading about that book you mentioned above (Diana West, American Betrayal).  gobsmacked that this is the first i've heard of it.  very much looking forward to your thoughts as/after you read it.

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 04:02 PM (8lmkt)

200 Posted by: Tobacco Road at December 07, 2013 07:50 PM (4Mv1T) TR, Do you mean the one about the unarmed gunman? Carol

Posted by: Carol at December 07, 2013 04:02 PM (z4WKX)

201 I am just hoping Duke can cover the spread, it's 29. After the Auburn game, I suspect FSU will have no mercy.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:02 PM (0FSuD)

202 @202 toby928 "It was my understanding that Rudé právo made a fine bog." Yes. He mentioned some were using foilage as well. When he defected, his parents were promptly thrown out of the communist party and I think his dad did jail time.

Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at December 07, 2013 04:03 PM (L9Bqi)

203 it's disgraceful that he didn't mark the anniversary

I have no idea, but I bet that muthafucka has commented on every single hiroshima anniversary since his immaculation.  can i spit here or should i go outside?

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 04:04 PM (8lmkt)

204 203 Anna,
 
The Argentine economy is in the crapper once again and thar be oil around them thar islands...time for a distraction.

Posted by: GnuBreed at December 07, 2013 04:04 PM (cHZB7)

205 O/T There is no race war, repeat that. This will make your blood pressure go up. The fireman they shot is white and barely alive. He should of had a gun. http://tinyurl.com/morgnoc

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:04 PM (0FSuD)

206 Olympic sailors not impressed by the polluted waters of Rio.  Naturally Brazil says they will fix it by the 2016 games.  Yeah right, pull my other finger.
http://local.msn.com/olympic-sailors-disgusted-by-rios-foul-waters

Announcer, "Oh no Team Denmark's boat has just been sunk by a floating refrigerator!"

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2013 04:05 PM (kFy87)

207 After 6 months of pre-planning, only four more hours until I can actually make reservations for long discussed Army buddy reunion at the Cape next June. I'll feel much better once the spot is officially reserved, people are coming from quite a ways, some with kiddoes in tow.

Posted by: Lincolntf at December 07, 2013 04:05 PM (ZshNr)

208 I have no idea, but I bet that muthafucka has commented on every single hiroshima anniversary since his immaculation. can i spit here or should i go outside? Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 08:04 PM (8lmkt) Don't spit on the monitor, or you'll have to go to the barrel.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:05 PM (0FSuD)

209 it's disgraceful that he didn't mark the anniversary
Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 08:04 PM (8lmkt)
Maybe he couldn't figure out a way to involve Nelson Mandela in it.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at December 07, 2013 04:06 PM (S+wJC)

210 A convincing Auburn win. Now, Ohio State/Michigan State. Go State!

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 04:07 PM (QupBk)

211  211 it's disgraceful that he didn't mark the anniversary

I have no idea, but I bet that muthafucka has commented on every single hiroshima anniversary since his immaculation. can i spit here or should i go outside?

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 08:04 PM (8lmkt)

Use the barrel. No one will notice.

 

Posted by: tbodie at December 07, 2013 04:08 PM (5SlKF)

212 GnuBreed I know.  Just referring to last month when Christina did bang her head.  As in her being even more loopy than usual.

If there was not a chance that Argentina could ally with Brazil over the Falklands I would chalk it down to saber rattling.  But Brazil has an aircraft carrier.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2013 04:08 PM (kFy87)

213 I'm rooting for Michigan State because of the greatness that is Detroit.

Posted by: Prez'nit 404 at December 07, 2013 04:09 PM (Dwehj)

214 Evidence points to FSU violating Duke tonight.

Posted by: Lincolntf at December 07, 2013 04:10 PM (ZshNr)

215 Use the barrel. No one will notice.

Posted by: tbodie at December 07, 2013 08:08 PM (5SlKF)


why the fuck would i barrel?  the only barrel i will use in the foreseeable future is the one on my ruger. 

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 04:10 PM (8lmkt)

216 I'll have to root for the Spartans to get Auburn into the show.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 04:10 PM (QupBk)

217 Ed Driscoll at PJ Media cites ace's brilliant Macguffins post from yesterday:
 
http://tinyurl.com/l9mwbxl

Posted by: GnuBreed at December 07, 2013 04:11 PM (cHZB7)

218 I meant for spittin here. My apologies that it came out wrong.

Posted by: tbodie at December 07, 2013 04:12 PM (5SlKF)

219 I'm rooting for Michigan State because of the greatness that is Detroit.

Yup . . . economic "fairness" sure turned that city around, eh? 

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 04:12 PM (8lmkt)

220 Gotta go with Michigan State. Recreational Yooper here.

Posted by: mama winger's iPad at December 07, 2013 04:12 PM (P6QsQ)

221 Looks like Stanford-AZ State could be another high-scoring game. 14-7 Stanford halfway through the first quarter.

Posted by: Vendette (hey, Fios, how about some picture-in-picture?) at December 07, 2013 04:12 PM (MpP9p)

222 I'm going with Michigan State, too.  Mostly because of mama winger. 

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 04:13 PM (8lmkt)

223 222 Evidence points to FSU violating Duke tonight. Duke alumni to buy FSU at half time or forfeit. FSU is thinking about it.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:13 PM (0FSuD)

224 Awww Peaches , yer a sweetie!

Posted by: mama winger's iPad at December 07, 2013 04:14 PM (P6QsQ)

225 Vendette, who you like for this game? 

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 04:14 PM (8lmkt)

226 At least Duke won something. The toss.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:15 PM (0FSuD)

227 207 rickl, jeez, I've been reading about that book you mentioned above (Diana West, American Betrayal). gobsmacked that this is the first i've heard of it. very much looking forward to your thoughts as/after you read it. Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 08:02 PM (8lmkt) Thanks, Peaches. Gates of Vienna has a whole Diana West category now. These posts are mostly about reactions to the book, rather than the book itself. http://gatesofvienna.net/topical/diana-west/ As the saying goes, "You know you're over the target when you're getting flak."

Posted by: rickl at December 07, 2013 04:15 PM (sdi6R)

228 Fuck, that was really funny, Nip.

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 04:15 PM (8lmkt)

229 My prediction: CSM  Orediggers will not play in any Bowl games this season.

Posted by: Ronster at December 07, 2013 04:15 PM (Rru72)

230 Shit, we are going to have to listen to that damn Tomahawk chant all night. I am sick of it already.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:16 PM (0FSuD)

231 I wonder if I should Photoshop this picture?
http://tinyurl.com/q8kbnsx

"Chao thought you said you fixed it?"

Chao, "Secretary Sebilius, this is fixed."

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2013 04:16 PM (kFy87)

232 We NEED a football thread. Save us Dave in Texas.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 04:17 PM (QupBk)

233 Vendette, who you like for this game? Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 08:14 PM (8lmkt) Honestly? I'd like to see MSU and Duke pull off upsets just to throw things into a bit of turmoil. Not that I can expect both of those results to actually happen...

Posted by: Vendette (hey, Fios, how about some picture-in-picture?) at December 07, 2013 04:18 PM (MpP9p)

234 Show of hands . How many been there ?

Posted by: Bill D. Cat at December 07, 2013 04:18 PM (XWw96)

235 I didn't realize they were playing the game in HeatherR's neck of the woods.

Posted by: mama winger's iPad at December 07, 2013 04:18 PM (P6QsQ)

236 Shit, tomahawk chant and now Brent Musselhead. I picked the wrong week to stop drinking.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:18 PM (0FSuD)

237 Damnit Mizzou!

Posted by: [/i][/b][/u][/s] Tami at December 07, 2013 04:18 PM (bCEmE)

238 Shit, we are going to have to listen to that damn Tomahawk chant all night. I am sick of it already. Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 08:16 PM (0FSuD) I watch most games on mute. If needs be, I'll rewind the DVR and turn on the sound.

Posted by: Vendette at December 07, 2013 04:19 PM (MpP9p)

239 Sorry Tami. I was cheering for ya but to no avail.

Posted by: mama winger's iPad at December 07, 2013 04:20 PM (P6QsQ)

240 I'd like to see MSU and Duke pull off upsets just to throw things into a bit of turmoil. And put Auburn AND Alabama in the NC. It would be the perfect storm of ridiculousness.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 04:20 PM (QupBk)

241 I'd like to see MSU

It's probably a testament to the power of beer that I have to ask, but by MSU, do you mean Michigan?  {don't taze me}

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 04:20 PM (8lmkt)

242 Thanks mama....their defense sucked.

Posted by: [/i][/b][/u][/s] Tami at December 07, 2013 04:21 PM (bCEmE)

243 Lets have a show of hands.  Who thinks this would make a fine addition to the ONT?

http://tinyurl.com/qcrk9d9

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2013 04:22 PM (kFy87)

244 Dunno about football, Joey Chestnut set a new world record for shrimp cocktail and I'm not sure we'll be able to beat it.  9 pounds, 4 ounces of shrimp in eight minutes.  Previous record was 4 pounds and 15 ounces in 12 minutes.

He's gonna be back next year to try to break 10 pounds.

Posted by: HeatherRadish™ at December 07, 2013 04:22 PM (hO8IJ)

245 Lets have a show of hands. Who thinks this would make a fine addition to the ONT?

http://tinyurl.com/qcrk9d9

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2013 08:22 PM (kFy87)


LOL!!!!!

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 04:22 PM (8lmkt)

246 9 pounds, 4 ounces of shrimp in eight minutes That's like a cubic foot of shrimp!

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 04:23 PM (QupBk)

247

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2013 08:22 PM (kFy87)

 

I'd drink to that.

Posted by: tbodie at December 07, 2013 04:23 PM (5SlKF)

248 It's probably a testament to the power of beer that I have to ask, but by MSU, do you mean Michigan? {don't taze me} Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 08:20 PM (8lmkt) Michigan State. Since there isn't a new thread around, here's a puppy who needs your help: http://tinyurl.com/n5jjhlc

Posted by: Vendette at December 07, 2013 04:23 PM (MpP9p)

249 136 "Oleg Plokhoy, 45, was appointed head of the new anti-corruption agency. Heh. That has to be a fake name. It means "bad Oleg".

Posted by: Anachronda at December 07, 2013 04:23 PM (U82Km)

250 @251 That hand on her shoulder is a little creepy.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:23 PM (0FSuD)

251 Vendette, I cannot get on one of those rescue lists.  not clicking your link . . . i am too emotionally fragile right now for that shit

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 04:24 PM (8lmkt)

252 New rule. Duke gets seven points for every first down. It's like a golf handicap.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:24 PM (0FSuD)

253 Â…..but they have all the late model '57 Chevys

Posted by: ontherocks at December 07, 2013 04:25 PM (tLkX/)

254 241 Vendette, who you like for this game? Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 08:14 PM (8lmkt) Honestly? I'd like to see MSU and Duke pull off upsets just to throw things into a bit of turmoil. Not that I can expect both of those results to actually happen... THIS to infinity! In honor of the last year of the BCS

Posted by: CFB fan at December 07, 2013 04:25 PM (5Q1ZU)

255 Vendette, I cannot get on one of those rescue lists. not clicking your link . . . i am too emotionally fragile right now for that shit Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 08:24 PM (8lmkt) It's not that, don't worry. You'll just want to stand him upright!

Posted by: Vendette at December 07, 2013 04:25 PM (MpP9p)

256 That's like a cubic foot of shrimp!

Pffft.

Posted by: Meggie McMac at December 07, 2013 04:26 PM (Dwehj)

257 aaaawwwww, Vendette, he is so cute, I swear puppy breath came wafting out of my computer

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 04:27 PM (8lmkt)

258 "I'd like to see MSU and Duke pull off upsets just to throw things into a bit of turmoil. "

Michigan State upsets Ohio State?  Maybe

Puke pulling off an upset against FSU?   Not chance.  No way.

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 04:27 PM (HjPtV)

259 Puke pulling off an upset against FSU? Not chance. No way.

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 08:27 PM (HjPtV)

 

You spelled Duke correctly.

Posted by: tbodie at December 07, 2013 04:29 PM (5SlKF)

260 Puke pulling off an upset against FSU? Not chance. No way. Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 08:27 PM (HjPtV) This is just part of my "let's mess up the BCS standings" dream. Mizzou didn't help.

Posted by: Vendette at December 07, 2013 04:29 PM (MpP9p)

261 Fumble! Duke recovers.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:30 PM (0FSuD)

262 FSU coughs up the ball on the 5 yard line. Duke dodges the first bullet.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 04:30 PM (QupBk)

263 Heh. That has to be a fake name. It means "bad Oleg".

Posted by: Anachronda

In Russia, you need a license to steal.  Oleg's job is to make sure you have a valid Putin license.  No Vlad, too bad.

Posted by: mrp at December 07, 2013 04:31 PM (HjPtV)

264 Gotta love the colors of unis in the Duke FSU game

Posted by: CFB fan at December 07, 2013 04:32 PM (5Q1ZU)

265 and the Spartans draw first blood. 3-0

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 04:32 PM (QupBk)

266 Michigan State with the FG

Posted by: mama winger's iPad at December 07, 2013 04:32 PM (P6QsQ)

267 I see the Horde seems to approve of that image and it being possible ONT material. 

Yeah I got your stompy shoes and BFGs right here...
http://www.ufunk.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/serge-birault-pin-up-girl-03.jpg

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2013 04:32 PM (kFy87)

268 Duke gets first game first down.. Duke 7 FSU 0

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:32 PM (0FSuD)

269 Two more Duke 1st downs Duke 21 FSU 0

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:34 PM (0FSuD)

270 1st down Duke 28 FSU 0

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:35 PM (0FSuD)

271 Ha, Anna Puma, I found something to balance the caboose that goes with the drink holders.  http://tinyurl.com/nkvu6eo

Posted by: no good deed at December 07, 2013 04:36 PM (HsJeN)

272 Duke 35 FSU 0 This is going to be easy with our handicap.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:38 PM (0FSuD)

273 If Cuba every goes main stream, I'd go for the "white house paint" and "toilet paper" distribution rights.

Posted by: Gordon Gekko at December 07, 2013 04:38 PM (e8kgV)

274 Duke may be for real folks - my kids never watch CFB but they're into cheering for the dookies

Posted by: CFB fan at December 07, 2013 04:39 PM (5Q1ZU)

275 281 If Cuba every goes main stream, I'd go for the "white house paint" and "toilet paper" distribution rights.

"drywall" for me. They're going to need a bunch of it. But I have to admit that the big money is in "exclusive import agent for Chinese-made goods."

Posted by: Splunge at December 07, 2013 04:40 PM (bKA83)

276 OT Just back off the plane.. Who died 1/2 mast US flag.. Firefighters?

Posted by: 7 Days in May at December 07, 2013 04:40 PM (j6DTo)

277 I had six new windows put in yesterday while I was at work. I am hoping that they will reduce my heating oil bill. I worked late and there is a mess in the rooms that they did. I cleaned up the floors last night and the bathtub because they did the bathroom window. I have to vacuum up the stuff now. They are doing two more next week & I also need a new roof. IÂ’m going to vacuum the mess up now & then make myself something to eat. I loved the Pearl Harbor color videos. IÂ’m surprised that only Powerline Blog had it.

Posted by: Carol at December 07, 2013 04:40 PM (z4WKX)

278 We're ALL prisoners of our mind.

Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That (Unexpurgated Edition) at December 07, 2013 04:41 PM (LSDdO)

279 If Duke wins this Imma go all Nelson Muntz on you H8RZ.



http://youtu.be/rX7wtNOkuHo

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 07, 2013 04:41 PM (yh0zB)

280 We've got nothing to lose and they have a lot of pride. Did I mention son is a double Dukie?

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:41 PM (0FSuD)

281 Who died 1/2 mast US flag.. Firefighters? Posted by: 7 Days in May at December 07, 2013 08:40 PM (j6DTo) Think it's for Mandela.

Posted by: [/i][/b][/u][/s] Tami at December 07, 2013 04:43 PM (bCEmE)

282 Going to watch on HD tv, bbl.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2013 04:43 PM (0FSuD)

283 Who died 1/2 mast US flag..
Firefighters?

Posted by: 7 Days in May at December 07, 2013 08:40 PM (j6DTo)



Pearl Harbor Day.

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 07, 2013 04:43 PM (yh0zB)

284 Just back off the plane.. Who died 1/2 mast US flag.. Firefighters? Posted by: 7 Days in May at December 07, 2013 08:40 PM (j6DTo) Nelson Mandela & most of us in Boston believe it is wrong to have the flags at half mast considering this administration did absolutely nothing for Mrs. ThatcherÂ’s funeral. I was having a late lunch yesterday & was sitting at the bar. Two of four televisions were on CNN. Two men came in & one asked if they could change to the Golf Channel & I thanked him. He asked me if it bothered me that they changed it. I told him I was happy because I was sick of looking up and seeing Mandela on all the time. Is that still on? I only watched GreyÂ’s Anatomy from Thursday on demand today and then shut the thing off.

Posted by: Carol at December 07, 2013 04:44 PM (z4WKX)

285 Cuba ever joins the human race , go long toilet seats . There is demand .

Posted by: Bill D. Cat at December 07, 2013 04:44 PM (XWw96)

286 pearl I can see the justice but Mandella? until the 9th. Go figure..

Posted by: 7 Days in May at December 07, 2013 04:44 PM (j6DTo)

287

Who died 1/2 mast US flag..

 

Margaret  Thatcher.  Just a little late.

Posted by: Ronster at December 07, 2013 04:45 PM (Rru72)

288 no good deed, um well  that is certainly interesting... 

think will go back to writing.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2013 04:45 PM (kFy87)

289 283 281 If Cuba every goes main stream, I'd go for the "white house paint" and "toilet paper" distribution rights. "drywall" for me. They're going to need a bunch of it. But I have to admit that the big money is in "exclusive import agent for Chinese-made goods." :::;;;; I'd like to be in the billboard and neon sign business there

Posted by: CFB fan at December 07, 2013 04:45 PM (5Q1ZU)

290 pearl
I can see the justice but Mandella? until the 9th.
Go figure..

Posted by: 7 Days in May at December 07, 2013 08:44 PM (j6DTo)




I'm saying Pearl Harbor Day just to keep my head from exploding.

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 07, 2013 04:46 PM (yh0zB)

291 Start buying up repair and trim parts for 57 Chevy cars.  Will make a massive killing in Cuba.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2013 04:46 PM (kFy87)

292 Walter Cronkite, who was vehemently anti-communist except when he wanted stuff from the government, reported this exchange in A ReporterÂ’s Life: I told him [Fidel Castro] of my two years in Moscow and travels through other countries of postwar Eastern Europe and that I had noted that in none of the Communist countries, including his, did the governments seem to pay attention to maintenance. Buildings were left unpainted and unrepaired inside and out, and they quickly fell into utter dilapidation. Why was this, I wanted to know? It was because, he said, when the Communists won power, the first need of the working class was adequate housing. So they spent all their limited resources on building new apartments for the people and had little left over for proper maintenance of the older, capitalist structures. But then, he added, it was something else, too: Under Communism, when people didnÂ’t own things, they somehow didnÂ’t seem to take care of them. And, having delivered this astounding admission, he stroked his beard and relit his cigar. To be honest, IÂ’m not sure I trust him on this (I know I donÂ’t trust him on other things in the book, it reads like a collection of urban legends).

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at December 07, 2013 04:46 PM (CeNUw)

293 Cuban prisons like El Morro and Isla are not as pretty as the one Nelson Mandela was in. They are dark and damp. Did Mandela have to fight off rats to get rotten, vermin-infested scraps? Was he beaten and tortured like Armando Valladares? Was he raped like Reinaldo Arenas? Did he often have to sleep lying in his own waste and that of his fellow prisoners?

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at December 07, 2013 04:48 PM (dfYL9)

294 DOOK!

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at December 07, 2013 04:50 PM (dfYL9)

295 Without getting into the obvious demographics, the reason why Mandela gets the half-mast and Thatcher doesn't is that Thatcher accomplished stuff while Mandela was chasing the MacGuffin.

Posted by: SFGoth at December 07, 2013 04:50 PM (3WO2A)

296 Posted by: SFGoth at December 07, 2013 08:50 PM (3WO2A) I think itÂ’s the obvious demographics.

Posted by: Carol at December 07, 2013 04:52 PM (z4WKX)

297 I like my MacGuffin theory.

Posted by: SFGoth at December 07, 2013 04:53 PM (3WO2A)

298 279 Ha, Anna Puma, I found something to balance the caboose that goes with the drink holders. http://tinyurl.com/nkvu6eo

I've seen that movie.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083099/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Posted by: Anachronda at December 07, 2013 04:53 PM (U82Km)

299 Seriously, pearl gets a day and Mandella gets 3 days of notification... WTF. I am ashamed.

Posted by: 7 Days in May at December 07, 2013 04:53 PM (j6DTo)

300 So who had FSU - Duke scoreless first quarter? Winston ain't sharp

Posted by: CFB fan at December 07, 2013 04:54 PM (5Q1ZU)

301 FSU and Duke scoreless after the 1st quarter.

Posted by: Vendette at December 07, 2013 04:54 PM (MpP9p)

302 Start buying up repair and trim parts for 57 Chevy cars. Will make a massive killing in Cuba.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2013 08:46 PM (kFy87)


Better yet, just start buying up shitbox cars all over the USA, and store them on a ranch in Texas. Honda Civics, Toyotas, Ford Escorts, Tempos, and Topaz, Chevy Cavalier and Citation, and comparable Mopar stuff. The 500 dollar to 1500 dollar cars, that still run fine, but are now too old and too humdrum to be cool.



Because when the embargo goes down, the Cubans will be selling their tarted up '50's American iron to U.S. "collectors" who have stars in their eyes, and taking the profits to buy some cheap small car that doesn't eat them out of house and home.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 07, 2013 04:55 PM (8Fl6F)

303 Re Mandela v Pearl - Do we really want Obama honoring real American heroes?

Posted by: ??? at December 07, 2013 04:55 PM (5Q1ZU)

304 How the hell do those American cars last so long in Cuba, but rust away in my driveway?

Posted by: Jean at December 07, 2013 04:56 PM (pxx5O)

305 The 500 dollar to 1500 dollar cars, that still run fine, but are now too old and too humdrum to be cool. I thought Obama killed all the clunkers?

Posted by: Jean at December 07, 2013 04:57 PM (pxx5O)

306 How the hell do those American cars last so long in Cuba, but rust away in my driveway? I don't think Cuba salts during snowstorms.

Posted by: t-bird at December 07, 2013 04:58 PM (FcR7P)

307 Those old Chevys in Cuba won't be worth diddly. They are not original in much if any way. Cobbled together with spare parts and bondo type fillers

Posted by: ??? at December 07, 2013 04:59 PM (5Q1ZU)

308 Dowould we really wantbelieve Obama honoring real American heroes?

FIFY

Posted by: longing for 1-20-17 at December 07, 2013 04:59 PM (82lr7)

309 Mexican friend of my wife, tells her that Univision has been running numerous stories about how Obama had Paul Walker killed with a bazooka. Yes, I'm serious.

Posted by: Darth Randall at December 07, 2013 05:03 PM (Zswg6)

310 Do we really want Obama honoring real American heroes? I think we're safe there. He is incapable of it.

Posted by: t-bird at December 07, 2013 05:03 PM (FcR7P)

311 Oh my. 10-0 Michigan State.

Posted by: Vendette at December 07, 2013 05:03 PM (MpP9p)

312 10 - 0? This...is madness!

Posted by: Stringer Davis at December 07, 2013 05:05 PM (xq1UY)

313 Taiwan 30 years ago maybe. Not now. They trade, Taiwan has factories in the PRC, there's open travel, etc and both side are moving towards each other politically. The open hostility is largely gone. I predict reunification within 20 years as soon as the old hardliner KMT types have died off.

Posted by: Purp at December 07, 2013 06:31 PM (UVadJ)

And I predict that the native Formosans, who become more politically significant with each passing year, will eventually become independent with the full support of the U.N.  Bets are down, wheel is spinning...wait 50 years for the result.

Posted by: HTL at December 07, 2013 05:06 PM (hhBXE)

314 Check weasel zippers for obama's tribute to Pearl Harbor. Three guesses.

Posted by: mama winger's iPad at December 07, 2013 05:07 PM (P6QsQ)

315 OT An old Southpark episode about hippies is on Comedy Central.

Posted by: nerdygirl at December 07, 2013 05:08 PM (6da/j)

316 Three guesses. Posted by: mama winger's iPad at December 07, 2013 09:07 PM (P6QsQ) Was he actually there are did they just airbrush him into the pic?

Posted by: [/i][/b][/u][/s] Tami at December 07, 2013 05:09 PM (bCEmE)

317 Jean, according to friends who have been in Cuba, those pretty '50's cars are just shells, every bit as false as the "restored" old city of Havana. Rust holes patched sheet metal and Bondo, or whatever passes for Bondo in Castro-land. Few of them have their original power train anymore; more likely the engine and tranny come from a Russian Lada or a tractor.


And I am sure the Cash For Clunkers scam got a lot of the old cars, but that was a while ago, and now there are "new" old beaters out there. And nowhere near all the real old cheap cars got scrapped. From what I recall, it wasn't the real old beaters that were scrapped, but more middle-aged used cars that maybe still had money owing on them. but were worth less than the note. Upside-down, as they say. So turn it in to be scrapped, and get upside-down in a new car. Such a deal!

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 07, 2013 05:09 PM (8Fl6F)

318 Tami - looks like a photoshop to me.

Posted by: mama winger's iPad at December 07, 2013 05:10 PM (P6QsQ)

319 Me too.....

Posted by: [/i][/b][/u][/s] Tami at December 07, 2013 05:10 PM (bCEmE)

320 Check weasel zippers for obama's tribute to Pearl Harbor.

Did WZ photoshop that or is it for real?

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 05:11 PM (8lmkt)

321 I had two real clunkers in my driveway that were too old to qualify for the Cash for Clunkers scam.

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 07, 2013 05:11 PM (yh0zB)

322 This...is madness! ISWYDT.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at December 07, 2013 05:11 PM (QupBk)

323 Peaches - it appears to be real.

Posted by: mama winger's iPad at December 07, 2013 05:12 PM (P6QsQ)

324 Soviet World - like Disney World without the fun, and the happy people, and the actors in clown suits - oh wait, they  have that.

Posted by: Mikey NTH - Death Capades - ObamaCare on Ice! Sponsored by the Outrage Outlet at December 07, 2013 05:12 PM (gmoEG)

325 oh, wait, it's totally bogus . . . read the quote, there is not a single "I" -- no way it can be him

Posted by: Peaches at December 07, 2013 05:12 PM (8lmkt)

326 Fresh thread

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/s] at December 07, 2013 05:13 PM (UVadJ)

327

Sometimes I wonder if we're the ones who are misreading human nature, not the left. I always assumed that is an innate desire for freedom in all of us. But if that were true, free market capitalism and democracy would be the rule, not the exception. In fact, it's always been an Anglo-American thing, and it died in England and is dying here.

 

It appears the innate desire of human beings is not for freedom, but material security. People will give up freedom, they'll live in shit, as long as the powers-that-be throw them enough crumbs to survive. Freedom is hard. You have to think. You have to make decisions. The great majority of people would rather not - they just want to line up at the trough, even if all the trough contains is crap.

Posted by: Donna V. at December 07, 2013 05:14 PM (R3gO3)

328 Christine G at somewhere at a company Oh how I love you and want you I am so hurt that you will not TELL me why you decided to unilatererally end the friendship. I am a pussy when it comes to hurt I need some words to come to some sort of understanding. Just tell me if you want to live your life as his pet. Just tell me if you decided you needed his money more than you needed our friendship. Let me know is all. Dammit I will just leave and let you be but I need to understand the why. I will always love you and will always respect what you decided If you have another "secret friend" just tell me and I'll never bother you again Tom

Posted by: Bad Doggie at December 07, 2013 05:20 PM (Zz48T)

329 @335 Donna V. "Sometimes I wonder if we're the ones who are misreading human nature, not the left." Human nature has 2 things that do not change not matter what the times or culture. Humans are habitual and the take the path of least resistance. Western civilization bucked the trend. I advocated the Iraq war in 2003, because I thought the same..everyone desire to be free. I was wrong. If the cultural does not exists to support western values, they simply won't. The left, and most of the world, hates the fact of the exceptionalism that we invent, build and create. We put men on the moon. What does the other cultures have to show?

Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at December 07, 2013 05:35 PM (L9Bqi)

330 This morning in Waco, I saw George Washington's Bible. Now that was really something. Especially when I think of what we have now.

Posted by: EROWMER at December 07, 2013 05:38 PM (OONaw)

331 The fence is in peoples' minds. Sounds like the Democrat party when faced with data, facts, or reason. "I can't touch that, or I'll die."

Posted by: D1St at December 07, 2013 05:42 PM (fIkHQ)

332 337 The left, and most of the world, hates the fact of the exceptionalism that we invent, build and create. Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at December 07, 2013 09:35 PM (L9Bqi) I have come to believe that the vast majority of people are terrified of liberty. They are afraid that they would lose in a truly free, competitive environment. They want the security of being taken care of. If that comes at someone else's expense, then so be it. They don't care.

Posted by: rickl at December 07, 2013 05:46 PM (sdi6R)

333 @ 340 ricl "I have come to believe that the vast majority of people are terrified of liberty. They are afraid that they would lose in a truly free, competitive environment." I agree. Hence the love-hate relationship most of the world has with America. The strong individualism reminds people what they are not. "They want the security of being taken care of. If that comes at someone else's expense, then so be it. They don't care." They are slaves awaiting a slave master and they deserve one.

Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at December 07, 2013 05:59 PM (L9Bqi)

334 Trouble is, they will sell us all into slavery.

Posted by: rickl at December 07, 2013 06:00 PM (sdi6R)

335 In a democracy, the majority rules. Make no mistake, we are a democracy now, no longer a republic.

Posted by: rickl at December 07, 2013 06:04 PM (sdi6R)

336 "They want the security of being taken care of. If that comes at someone else's expense, then so be it. They don't care."

"They are slaves awaiting a slave master and they deserve one.

Trouble is, they will sell us all into slavery. Posted by: rickl at December 07, 2013 10:00 PM (sdi6R)"

And that is exactly the problem, is it not?
They are willing for slavery, and they are quite willing to take us, though we are unwilling for such a thing, with them!
They *DO NOT CARE*!

They want to be coddled and secure and don't really give a fuck what *we* want, which is to be free!
Free to make our own choices and mistakes.
Free to have our wins and losses.
Free to have our successes and our failures.
Freedom comes with the price of personal responsibility, and they are not willing to pay the price.
They would have us all dead, if it would buy then safety and security...

Posted by: ChrisP at December 07, 2013 06:13 PM (BpTC0)

337 @342 rickl "Trouble is, they will sell us all into slavery." No. Only if you personally submit. Refuse and fight. A freeman who digs and willing to kill and die, scares the shit out of them.

Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at December 07, 2013 06:16 PM (L9Bqi)

338 Havana? Oh. I thought he was talking about Detroit.

Posted by: wdk535 at December 07, 2013 06:19 PM (02YD0)

339 The left need their Daddy/Mommy They are relying on the youths and the black vote I am close to 60, and I care but I have my own reality to dead with, But........ Most of the youths are going to get ROYALLY FUCKED by Obamacare. And the screwing is now and the REST OF YOUR LIVES forever .. UNLESS YOU ARE IN A UNION.. Then you get to say Fuck everyone else Here's a clue. No one will want you, respect you, or admire you for you Fucking Everyone else over, You Fucks ITS THE VERY DENIFITION OF FASCISTISIOM You fucks Fuck you

Posted by: Tom_Ohio at December 07, 2013 06:27 PM (Zz48T)

340 How about some honesty in these commentaries about Cuba? Yes, there is a large part of the population that is marking time... but, explain the various luxury car shops in Havana...  explain how Cubans are charging $50 US per night to stay in a room in a home and getting it when this story tells about Cubans making $20 per month... explain about how Cubans can afford to go and stay in the same hotels as the foreign tourists...  explain that there is more than one tier of income in Cuba.
Yes, there are still block watchers...  but there is also mafia like in the US, there is wealth just like in the US, there are poor, middle income and rich people in Cuba... and now that real estate is in play in Cuba, real estate speculation.
Are you telling me that Cubans in Cuba are not getting a lot of money to play around in Cuba from their relatives in the US? if so, you are ignorant.
And, on top of that, the Chinese are taking a position in a large way in Cuba...  heard of the port of Mariel? Well, the Chinese are developing that port into what will be the largest container port in the region... to go along with running the Panama Canal Zone... isn't it wonderful how the US has just bent over and asked to be reamed?

Posted by: PhilipJames at December 07, 2013 08:30 PM (Zrs1R)

341 IF you have dollars / turist currency you can certainly spend it. In Havanna, There is One large mall where you need dollars, with suitably high prices.

Posted by: Boosh at December 07, 2013 11:00 PM (w1kP9)

342 Way upthread. there were some posts about Pope Francis possibly visiting Cuba. Of course, the Castros would frown upon the Pope stirring up a religious revival. but didn't the Pope recently give a speech ripping capitalism? It seem like Francis dislikes the atheist aspect of Communism, but has no problem with the rest of it.

Posted by: Biff Boffo at December 08, 2013 01:04 AM (1j9qS)

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