Cuba And The U.s.a.

[Guest bigbadbrent]

Cause it's american soil..Cubans decide to take it over, goodbye cuba

[dryfly]

Wiki is not always accurate...

According to this we sell about 1% of the world's arms. Note the low figure for China. That number is based on $5/day labor or free labor of done by the army.

[Weedy1]

Rank Supplier Deliveries Value 2006

1 United States 14,008

2 Russia 5,800

3 United Kingdom 3,300

4 Germany 1,000

5 China 700

6 Canada 600

7 France 400

8 Netherlands 300

9 Israel 200

10 Spain 200

11 Sweden 200

 

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/arming-t...-suppliers.html

[Castuserraticus]

Rank Supplier Deliveries Value 2006

1 United States 14,008

2 Russia 5,800

3 United Kingdom 3,300

4 Germany 1,000

5 China 700

6 Canada 600

7 France 400

8 Netherlands 300

9 Israel 200

10 Spain 200

11 Sweden 200

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/arming-t...-suppliers.html

 

The spider senses start tingling as soon as I see a CBC source. Their coverage is often slanted towards the sensational. The question is what do you classify as arms - armoured personnel carriers vs bombs.

I know we have a handful of companies that supply aerospace parts - could include missile parts but the biggest component is landing gear from what I recall. I think there may be some armoured vehicle manufacturing. I'm not aware of any munitions manufacturing.

[Weedy1]

This is the real story.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/arming-the-world/

 

I was just trying to throw Rickr off track. Successfully hijacked too I must say!!!

[reevesr1]

Oh yeah....

This is foreign aid by country to the International Monetary Fund (I think)

 

Source: OECD Development Statistics Online last accessed Saturday, April 07, 2007

further details.

 

In Millions

 

USA 22,739

UK 12,607

Japan 11,608

France 10,448

 

Germany 10,351

Netherlands 5,452

Sweden 3,967

Spain 3,801

Canada 3,713

Italy 3,672

Norway 2,946

Denmark 2,234

Australia 2,128

Belgium 1,968

Switzerland 1,647

Austria 1,513

Ireland 997

Finland 826

Portugal 391

Greece 384

Luxembourg 291

New Zealand 257

 

Really, I don't know what this means, I just googled charitable contributions by country so the US could be first in something other than guns. (though the data when indexed to personal income is a bit depressing)

 

Here is the link, in case anyone is masochistic enough to read it:

http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/D...ChartsandGraphs

[Weedy1]

Oh yeah....

This is foreign aid by country to the International Monetary Fund (I think)

 

Source: OECD Development Statistics Online last accessed Saturday, April 07, 2007

further details.

 

In Millions

 

USA 22,739

UK 12,607

Japan 11,608

France 10,448

 

Germany 10,351

Netherlands 5,452

Sweden 3,967

Spain 3,801

Canada 3,713

Italy 3,672

Norway 2,946

Denmark 2,234

Australia 2,128

Belgium 1,968

Switzerland 1,647

Austria 1,513

Ireland 997

Finland 826

Portugal 391

Greece 384

Luxembourg 291

New Zealand 257

 

Really, I don't know what this means, I just googled charitable contributions by country so the US could be first in something other than guns. (though the data when indexed to personal income is a bit depressing)

 

Here is the link, in case anyone is masochistic enough to read it:

http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/D...ChartsandGraphs

 

Oh yeah right back at you..

 

PER CAPITA THIS EQUATES TO:

 

US -Population: 301,139,947 July 2007 est.

 

22,739,000,000 / 301,139,947 = $75.51 per capita

 

CAN -Population: 33,390,141 (July 2007 est.)

 

3,713,000,000 / 33,390,141 = $111.20 per capita

 

This all goes to show that Canada is 47% nicer than the United States. That's why you guys wear Canadian flags when you go backpacking. You're embarrassed to show how much you give to the International Monetary Fund.

[reevesr1]

Oh yeah right back at you..

 

PER CAPITA THIS EQUATES TO:

 

US -Population: 301,139,947 July 2007 est.

 

22,739,000,000 / 301,139,947 = $75.51 per capita

 

CAN -Population: 33,390,141 (July 2007 est.)

 

3,713,000,000 / 33,390,141 = $111.20 per capita

 

This all goes to show that Canada is 47% nicer than the United States. That's why you guys where Canadian flags when you go backpacking. You're embarrassed by show much you give to the International Monetary Fund.

 

Ok, Here is the ranking per GNP (Gross national product??)

 

Sweden Rocks!!

 

Source: OECD Development Statistics Online last accessed Saturday, April 07, 2007

 

 

Sweden 1.03

Luxembourg 0.89

Norway 0.89

Netherlands 0.81

Denmark 0.8

Ireland 0.53

UK 0.52

Belgium 0.5

Austria 0.48

France 0.47

Finland 0.39

Switzerland 0.39

Germany 0.36

Spain 0.32

Australia 0.3

Canada 0.3

New Zealand 0.27

Japan 0.25

Portugal 0.21

Italy 0.2

USA 0.17

Greece 0.16

 

And who gets the money?

1. Iraq

2. Nigeria

3. China (WTF?)

4. Afghanistan

5. Indonesia

6. India

7. Ghana

8. Egypt

9. Vietnam

10. Sudan

 

Now, speaking of hijacks, how was that? I had to get away from the Cuba thing cuz I was still shaking after LS's shot across the bow.

 

Edit: Top 14 countries above European. I'll never make fun of them again. Except maybe France.

[Lundvike]

I was in Cuba just last year. It is a beautiful country and well worth visiting before Castro dies, I foresee problems afterwards. Also Americans are welcome in Cuba they just can't fly directly from the US to Cuba. There was an american staying at our hotel who flew in through Mexico. There was a story I heard while I was there about Castro trying to send doctors and nurses to New Orleans after Katrina to help with the relief effort and bush rejecting the assistance.

[reevesr1]

I was in Cuba just last year. It is a beautiful country and well worth visiting before Castro dies, I foresee problems afterwards. Also Americans are welcome in Cuba they just can't fly directly from the US to Cuba. There was an american staying at our hotel who flew in through Mexico. There was a story I heard while I was there about Castro trying to send doctors and nurses to New Orleans after Katrina to help with the relief effort and bush rejecting the assistance.

 

So if true, that sucks. But sounds political on both sides. And really, where were they going to go in NO anyway? I don't think there was a shortage of doctors and nurses from the US who wanted to go, but where?

 

As someone who's never been to Cuba, but would love to, do you think it will get worse after Castro? In what way? Not asking out of any preconceived notion, I am legitimately curious. I've never been to a communist country while it was still communist. I have been just after (very soon after) and the people looked to me, for the want of a better term, depressed. Everything was dirty, gray, and dingy, including the people (and man did they have bad shoes!) Are the people in Cuba happy? (again I am legitimately asking here) If they are, then I hope they continue to be so post Castro as well.

[Lundvike]

So if true, that sucks. But sounds political on both sides. And really, where were they going to go in NO anyway? I don't think there was a shortage of doctors and nurses from the US who wanted to go, but where?

 

As someone who's never been to Cuba, but would love to, do you think it will get worse after Castro? In what way? Not asking out of any preconceived notion, I am legitimately curious. I've never been to a communist country while it was still communist. I have been just after (very soon after) and the people looked to me, for the want of a better term, depressed. Everything was dirty, gray, and dingy, including the people (and man did they have bad shoes!) Are the people in Cuba happy? (again I am legitimately asking here) If they are, then I hope they continue to be so post Castro as well.

 

I will try to answer, most of what I say is opinion. I think it will be worse after Castro because I think that communism will end when he dies. Cuba has been significantly weakened by the collapse of the soviet union their historical primary trading partner. The country really has very little to export in terms of raw goods currently. The whole region is not historically very stable and change in power will cause huge problems.

 

The discovery of rather rich oil reserves offshore has led to a great deal of interest from foreign investment from places like Canada and China. I can't imagine the US not being interested in oil anywhere in the world so I think you will see some change to their policy. So Cuba may see some recovery in the short term.

 

I don't think one can look at Cuba as being truely communist (at least not anymore) there is far too much corruption and the classes of society are fairly obvious. My friend Sasha said it best I think when I was trying to describe the quality of life that the people have there. "The majority of the people are poor but they all seem to be in good health". There is a lot of poverty there but there is also a state food ration system which provides a minimum amount of food for the people and a state run free healthcare system. Are Cuban people really happy I would say no based on the number of people trying to escape but some certainly are. I could go on for hours but I won't right now.

[reevesr1]

Thanks.

[KingSalmon]

You know, I wrote a big long reply to the above and decided it wasn't worth it other than to say that no matter how many rude Canadians I meet (and the proportion of jackass canadians is the same as the proportion of jackass americans, or mexicans, or french, or whatever) I would never, ever, in a public forum call them loud and obnoxious nor call one of their cities a nightmare (particularly since I think it is Calgary's #1 travel destination?)

 

I tried to make an actual reply to fisher's question about Cuba, from my perspective. I had a bit of fun with Weedy. Don't know what you expected to accomplish with the rude American comment, but offense taken.

 

Edit: But what the hell, KingSalmon agrees with ya, so I guess your comment was ok (insert dripping sarcasm emoticon here)

 

I guess you missed the sarcasm in my 2 word reply lol...oh well

I could see that the post I replied to might cause some controversy, so I said "well put". Maybe I should have put big sarcasm squares around it. Stupid internet

[H2O]

I could see that the post I replied to might cause some controversy, so I said "well put". Maybe I should have put big sarcasm squares around it. Stupid internet

 

Uh oh, anti-American sentiment. WSF is a terrorist organization isn't it Tim? Allahu Akbar!

[KingSalmon]

Uh oh, you're onto us Harry!

[reevesr1]

I guess you missed the sarcasm in my 2 word reply lol...oh well

I could see that the post I replied to might cause some controversy, so I said "well put". Maybe I should have put big sarcasm squares around it. Stupid internet

 

Stupid internet. I'm basically sarcastic all the time, so it gets me in trouble too. Sorry for including you in the double barreled blast back.

[KingSalmon]

No worries

[trailhead]

The biggest reason the US is up in arms against Cuba is that Dupont and Dole, among others, lost some rather expensive assets when Castro took power. Castro wasn't backed by the US, but the American government was getting embarassed by the human rights violations being carried out by Batista. Because remember that Havana was essentially Las Vegas East at the time and it was receiving a fair amount of media scrutiny from the New York broadcasters. So they turned a blind eye to Castro and let him go. When he nationalized everything he pissed on some rich shoes. The end result was the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, carried out by the privileged sons of the wealthy Cubans who had fled to Miami, the missile crisis, and Guantanamo Bay. The real conspiracy theorists even roll the Kennedy Assasination, the Mafia, CIA and FBI into the fray, but who knows for sure. Anyway the Carter adminstration did look at normalizing relations, but the powerful Anti-Castro lobby in Miami was against it. The official American position was that if the Cubans wanted to open trade with the US, the assets that were lost in the Cuban Revolution had to be returned. I wonder if the assets the British lost in the American Revolution should be returned in the same manner? But I digress, Americans are more than welcome in Cuba, the problem is if they do travel to Cuba and the US government becomes aware of it, they can be fined up to $125000. This has not stopped millions of Americans from doing so, notably Ry Cooder and Johnny Depp to name but two. So when Castro kicks the bucket the theory is that the border will open with the US, so if you are planning a trip go soon. Otherwise it will turn into another land of Starbucks and the Golden Arches.

[reevesr1]

The biggest reason the US is up in arms against Cuba is that Dupont and Dole, among others, lost some rather expensive assets when Castro took power. Castro wasn't backed by the US, but the American government was getting embarassed by the human rights violations being carried out by Batista. Because remember that Havana was essentially Las Vegas East at the time and it was receiving a fair amount of media scrutiny from the New York broadcasters. So they turned a blind eye to Castro and let him go. When he nationalized everything he pissed on some rich shoes. The end result was the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, carried out by the privileged sons of the wealthy Cubans who had fled to Miami, the missile crisis, and Guantanamo Bay. The real conspiracy theorists even roll the Kennedy Assasination, the Mafia, CIA and FBI into the fray, but who knows for sure. Anyway the Carter adminstration did look at normalizing relations, but the powerful Anti-Castro lobby in Miami was against it. The official American position was that if the Cubans wanted to open trade with the US, the assets that were lost in the Cuban Revolution had to be returned. I wonder if the assets the British lost in the American Revolution should be returned in the same manner? But I digress, Americans are more than welcome in Cuba, the problem is if they do travel to Cuba and the US government becomes aware of it, they can be fined up to $125000. This has not stopped millions of Americans from doing so, notably Ry Cooder and Johnny Depp to name but two. So when Castro kicks the bucket the theory is that the border will open with the US, so if you are planning a trip go soon. Otherwise it will turn into another land of Starbucks and the Golden Arches.

See, I knew someone knew more than me about it.

 

Did we keep any of the British assets during the Revolution? Really? I had no idea (Nice line trailhead, I got a good chuckle out of that)

 

And Starbucks and McDonalds can't help it if people want to build their shrines to bad food and overpriced coffee. Maybe Timmies can get in on the fray.

[cheeler]

Some interesting news today:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7137772.stm

[booboo]

FYI. There are flights that fly to Cuba from Miami and Americans are allowed on it. They do, however have to have a missionary certificate, which is very expensive. As mentioned most Americans do fly through Mexico and usually take a long time to get through customs. So if Americans are ever in front of you in the "Aduana" (customs) line, find another line.

 

I worked in Cuba for half of the year, so i do have a little knowledge on the matter. I'm still actually considered a resident.

[ladystrange]

QUOTE(rickr @ Dec 10 2007, 08:42 PM)

You know, I wrote a big long reply to the above and decided it wasn't worth it other than to say that no matter how many rude Canadians I meet (and the proportion of jackass canadians is the same as the proportion of jackass americans, or mexicans, or french, or whatever) I would never, ever, in a public forum call them loud and obnoxious nor call one of their cities a nightmare (particularly since I think it is Calgary's #1 travel destination?)

 

I tried to make an actual reply to fisher's question about Cuba, from my perspective. I had a bit of fun with Weedy. Don't know what you expected to accomplish with the rude American comment, but offense taken.

 

Edit: But what the hell, KingSalmon agrees with ya, so I guess your comment was ok (insert dripping sarcasm emoticon here)

 

I guess you missed the sarcasm in my 2 word reply lol...oh well

I could see that the post I replied to might cause some controversy, so I said "well put". Maybe I should have put big sarcasm squares around it. Stupid internet

 

well that makes it easier, i can reply to both of you then.

 

right, wrong or otherwise, opinion are what they are. just opinions and everyone is entitled to one and has one.

 

that being said. it was not meant as an anti-american shot at all, just an obersvation. certainly there are rude, loud, obnoxious people from everywhere espeically the french (i'm 1/4 french and my family is loud and obnoxious). also a decent portion of my family is american. i didnt say all, just many of the americans i have met while travelling, which i have done a lot of. that was not a blanket statement. nor was it meant to be.

 

many of the canadians i have met travelling usually wear a button, pin or patch of a canadian flag somewhere on their person, i have also met americans... wearing a canadian flag because they would rather be thought of as canadian rather than american. why you might ask? because the americans who want you to know they are american (this may only apply to a small number) the ones who dont want to be known as american just want to be treated nicely where they go and not be bothered. there are certainly a lot of those ones around. as for vegas, that is the poor man's destination where the poor man for 200usd can fly there from almost everywhere in the country and get a hotel off the strip for 49usd a night and still rub elbows with the rich and famous. but those are the ones (generally and check the buffet line if you doubt me) that are the loud and obnoxious ones because they want everyone to know they are there.

 

now if this works - http://www.slide.com/r/aNPpzQYz7T8wmfKMerB3fxcq9n3YP3qh

 

that is what i am talking about in particular. name one country that starts with the letter U

[reevesr1]

U-

United States

Uganda

Uruguay (I'm sure there are more, off the top of my head

 

Isosceles

 

Jewish

 

Just randomly answering questions. I think I knew them all, but they didn't ask me, it would be boring. Also, just like any of these types of stories, if you ask enough people you'll get some idiots. Nice for a comedy bit, or possible a way to make your viewers feel smart by finding stupid people from another country, but not exactly informative.

 

I read an article in the Herald a couple of years ago discussing national stereotypes while traveling. I don't know where the author was from, if I remember correct he/she was Canadian but I could be wrong. The article was about how right/wrong some national stereotypes were. Here were the results (and it was some sort of study, have no idea how scientific)

Japanese take a lot of pictures-true

British are reserved-completely false

Germans are mercurial (I think that is the word)-somewhat true

Scottish are cheap-I can't remember, but I wanna say false

Canadians are unfailingly polite-When traveling, Canadians are indistinguishable from Americans (except for the patch!)

 

By the way, I come from lower middle class. Nice to know that it is truly my people you find loud and obnoxious.

 

Whatever.

[Weedy1]

now if this works - http://www.slide.com/r/aNPpzQYz7T8wmfKMerB3fxcq9n3YP3qh

 

 

Ok, here's one for you Calgarians.

 

Where is the Calgary Tower Located?

[Guest Sundancefisher]

My burning question is if Cuba is off limits to Americans...why are there so many there fishing?