9mo ago

The world prepares to vote against the US blockade on Cuba

The world prepares to vote against the US blockade on Cuba : Peoples Dispatch

On more than 30 occasions, the United Nations Assembly has discussed the blockade against Cuba, which costs the island 5 billion dollars annually, according to some estimates. Every year the resolution is proposed and the whole world, through the vote of the absolute majority of the member countries of the United Nations General Assembly, has condemned the imperialist attitude of the United States towards Cuba.

edit: result of the vote: https://mastodon.nzoss.nz/system/cache/media_attachments/files/113/398/372/180/881/996/original/82c4d1f509e933fa.jpg

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9mo ago

The world prepares to vote against the US blockade on Cuba

peoplesdispatch.org /2024/10/29/the-world-prepares-to-vote-against-the-us-blockade-on-cuba/

127 comments

Every year the resolution is proposed and the whole world, through the vote of the absolute majority of the member countries of the United Nations General Assembly, has condemned the imperialist attitude of the United States towards Cuba.
And just like every year, the vote will do nothing.
- it'll add up to a hell of a lot of justified reparations when the US backs down.
  
  US backs down
  Does the US back down? We definitely double down
- Because it’s Russia advocating to lift the embargo which was put in place because of the Cuban missle crisis right?
  
  Since the 1960s, the United States has systematically punished the Cuban people through a stringent blockade on its economy for having declared and built a political and economic model different from the one advocated and directed by the United States.
- Certain americans do not care about foreigners at all. The whole election spam proved that. We are simply not humans to them.
  FTFY
There is no blockade of Cuba. It's an embargo. There are no military ships blowing up anyone trying to trade with Cuba.
- Surprised you're not being downvoted for calling out this disinformation, usually it's all the rage on Lemmy
- If I were to start a business out of Miami, Florida that sent an oil tanker to Cuba, what would happen to that oil tanker?
  
  The company would be prosecuted and the ship seized the next time it docked at port. If the company was based in literally any other country, nothing would happen.
- Edit: incorrect removed
  
  There are no secondary sanctions on Cuba.
  
  I'm 2024? No shot. They'd end the embargo before doing that.
Why is it normalized that one country can block/embargo/complicate/whatever-you-want-to-call-it another country to the point of severely affecting the lives of millions of people .... for what? because one country disagrees with the politics of another country?
If countries were able to do that, there would be no trade anywhere in the world.
Yet it's been completely normalized for the past six decades between the US and Cuba.
- Because the international order is based on economic and military might, not any sort of higher ideal or codified rules.
  
  So jungle rules then ..... ooga booga ... just with better vocabulary.
- Countries have complicated trade for centuries. Free trade is a modern exception, not the historical rule.
  And in principle, countries have as much right to restrict trade with Cuba as they do with Russia and Israel. It's the same principle that allows people to call for boycotts of Amazon and Starbucks. All of these things can affect the lives of millions, in an effort to bring about political change.
- Ah, well...
  \
  
  The US also has about 750 military bases (not including black sites) scattered across 80 countries around the world
  
  Some of those have been decommissioned. I know for sure the first one in the second column has, as I was stationed in that one.
  
  There is more countries with CVs than i thought. Also Brazil and Thailand? I wasn't aware they had any sizeable navy to begin with.
  
  This is somewhat misleading. It’s not like US can deploy a massive fleet of carriers that overwhelms most of the worlds militaries. This is so US can maintain a presence, a mobile base, in parts of the world it seems important. Full time. This is just a carrier in each ocean, even during maintenance cycles.
  A big difference is most of these other countries are not trying to project power far away, just defend their turf. For example does the number of carriers China has really matter? The contention is us carriers and bases in Asia vs all of China.
- It isn't that it's normalized. It is simply that no one can do anything about it. So, they voice their disagreement.
- Why shouldn't a country be able to decide not to trade with another country?
  
  You are correct but the question was ... why should a country prevent another country from being able to freely trade with every other country.
- Palestine and plenty of other countries, too. Mostly the ones that want a different economic system, afaict.
- The US military is in 75% of the countries on earth but it's definitely not the largest empire the world has ever seen * wink wink *
- Welcome to politics?
- Just wait until China blockades Taiwan and uses the USAs blockade of Cuba as precedent
  
  The problem being that Taiwan is a critical part of the entire global economy. TSMC fabricates ~50% of all semiconductor products in the world, but critically >90% of all fabrication at 5nm or lower (basically everything with a fabrication process less than a decade old). They are the leading edge. If you want to make a modern CPU, TSMC is your foundry.
  By threatening Taiwan, China is holding a gun to the head of the entire world. Loss of TSMC's fabrication would basically shut down the global computer industry.
- I'd rather russia had just embargoed Ukraine, for the 2014 "revolution" instead of invading. And that China embargo Taiwan instead of invading if that ever comes to pass. Don't you? It's not even a siege as some people are portraying it, there are no secondary sanctions.
  That said, I'd rather the embargo were lifted and relations were normalized, maybe Cuba would turn into a sort of Vietnam, but that would take more than just the US lifting restrictions, it would take reform on Cuba's part as well. Even China agrees that Cuba needs market reforms e.g. https://www.diariolasamericas.com/america-latina/china-rompe-acuerdos-comerciales-cuba-ya-no-es-el-sugar-daddy-del-regimen-n5365604 and won't invest in a dying economy unless they change, same as the US.
  
  Unless the missile crisis is ongoing, or nationalization of Chiquita is recent, or Cuba was behind the JFK assassination, how the heck can we justify this?
  There’s a ton of US money that would goto Cuba and benefit people in both countries.
  But who cares if they do market reform? Sure that will affect their economic success but that’s on them. It’s not worth sanctions
Blockading Cuba has never made sense. If communism is an inferior failed system that can't compete with the freedom of Capitalism (cue heavenly sunbeams and angel choirs) why not leave Cuba alone and let nature take its course?
- Noted socialist (/s) Hillary Clinton advocated for that very thing.
  The real reason behind the embargo at this point is that it makes a small but important voting bloc of Cuban expats in Florida happy.
  
  That's really it. The start and end of why the embargo is even still there. It hurts both Cuba and (to a lesser extent) the United States. It benefits nobody, but there's some loudmouth Cuban expats who want you to believe Batista didn't have it coming.
  
  Yep - it's one of the reasons Miami sees so much Trump support.
  
  That figures - gotta keep those campaign financiers happy.
- This is why you get conspiracy theories that it was Cuba that assassinated President Kennedy: how else can we justify such extended sanctions when all the participants are long gone
- There was a somewhat understandable reason initially; when the embargo was first started, it was because Cuba allowed the UUSR to use it as a forward base for missiles so they could reach the mainland US, which, understandably, the US wasn't very happy about
  But ever since the fall of the USSR it's been absurd
  
  Especially since we’ve kept a naval base/prison on a corner of the island the whole time, yay Murica.
- Because the US knows communism is not an inferior system. But to run the argument it never works they need to embargo it to then say "see it doesnt work".
  
  Ahaaa!
I can't believe they're still trying to "contain the communism" of Cuba
Legalize the import of Cuban cigars, and I will personally bring Cuba back into an age of prosperity.
- You can bring them back in your luggage - limit is maybe 100 cigars or $1000 worth. Something like that.
  
  I'm 99% certain Trump administration put the kibosh on that. At least that was what I was told when I traveled out of country in 2023, and wanted to see if I could bring some back.
  In 2016, the Obama administration eased some restrictions, allowing U.S. travelers to bring Cuban cigars into the country for personal use. However, this was short-lived. In 2020, the Trump administration re-imposed strict regulations, re-banning Cuban cigars—whether bought in Cuba or through third countries. Current Regulations:
  As of now, it is illegal to import Cuban cigars into the U.S. This includes bringing cigars bought in other countries that originated from Cuba. Any attempt to bring Cuban cigars into the U.S. can result in serious legal consequences, including confiscation and potential fines.
- I quit smoking but I'd gladly have a puff.
  
  The thing I love about Cubans is the smell. The US is spoiled with a wonderful selection of great Nicaraguan and Dominican cigars that for all intents and purposes beat out Cubans. But Cuban cigars have a very particular smell that I can't get over.
Why won't the rest of the world just ignore the blockade together?
- When I was a kid, sweden did (IDK if they still do) so we had Cuba Cola there :-)
- Because nuclear bombs are horrifying.
  
  The USA is going to bomb anybody who trades with Cuba?
.
- There are two tiers of UN. There’s the “I’m not a colonizer that’s willing to nuke people” tier, where the strongest outcome is “sternly worded email”; and then there’s the UN Permanent Security Council tier where you get an absolute veto power that cannot be questioned. The wiki is a very educating read
  Edit: please tell me what part I am incorrect about if you disagree so hard that you downvote me out of the discussion.
  
  Isn't it just the permanent members of the UNSC with veto power?
We were in Cuba one year when they had the vote. I had never heard of it, but it was all over the news there so i thought it actually meant something.
Being of Cuban descent, I really hope that this is the first step towards repealing that embargo once and forma all. ¡Vida y patria!
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Russia waiting to put some nukes in Cuba
- If Russia wanted to do that, they could.
  
  Don't you think that might cause some kind of a crisis
The United Nations is a corrupt organization the majority of whose members try to improve their station by taking bribes to vote whichever way Russia, China, the Arabs or Iran pay them to. It's been a fucking joke for decades.
- The purpose of the UN was to prevent World War III. That's all.
  It was never intended to be a global government, it was never intended to prevent all conflict, it was never intended to be a perfect organization.
  Expecting the UN to exist without corruption, or to effectively prevent all wrongs across the world, is to severely misunderstand what the intended goal is or what any collective group of humans is even capable of.
  
  You're kinda glossing over the fact that it looks like it's failing to prevent WW3.
- All these downvotes make me wonder if people know that Saudi Arabia is the chair of the UN gender equality forum.
  LOL
- USA is the only country with TRUE FREEDOM! /s

127 comments