US/Cuba to Begin Talks

[Wisconsin9]

The US should have no problem then, with opening an embassy with Iran or North Korea if Cuba is getting accepted. I fail to see what makes Cuba any more deserving of US diplomacy than the other nations the US doesn't currently care for.

I can't see road signs if I'm not wearing my glasses, but that doesn't mean they're not there. Not according to the jury, anyways.

[Threlizdun]

I wouldn't call Cuba's government decent. It's improved, I'll concede that. I agree with the rest of your statements.

Well, decent by Communist dictatorship standards, I meant. I don't like it, but is better than many other regimes that existed during the Cold War.

It is not a communist nation nor has it ever claimed to be.

[Kubra]

OMG! I hadn't even thought of that! We need trade with Cuba NOW!!!

I can think of like six places in town where I can get Coke with real sugar, and that's just off the top of my head. Hell, there are like three or four in walking distance.

a lot of places import it from Mexico since it's fairly cheap as it is + super delicious. The farther north you go the harder to gets to get, until you hit Canada and shit ceases to exist.

[Glorious KASSRD]

Well, decent by Communist dictatorship standards, I meant. I don't like it, but is better than many other regimes that existed during the Cold War.

It is not a communist nation nor has it ever claimed to be.

It is a communist nation in the modern term. Not Marxist, yes, but Marxism is not the only communism.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

The US should have no problem then, with opening an embassy with Iran or North Korea if Cuba is getting accepted. I fail to see what makes Cuba any more deserving of US diplomacy than the other nations the US doesn't currently care for.

Iran, I can see eventually, though that didn't work out for the embassy personnel last time. North Korea would be more problematic for a number of reasons.

[Threlizdun]

It is not a communist nation nor has it ever claimed to be.

It is a communist nation in the modern term. Not Marxist, yes, but Marxism is not the only communism.

Marxism isn't communism, but an ideology proposing a historical science, sociological theory, and method of bringing about revolution that will inevitably result in communism. Communism is a form of social organization that is classless, stateless, and currencyless where the means of production are socially owned and democratically administrated and where wealth is distributed according to need. Cuba is an authoritarian state capitalist society that has begun adopting market capitalist reforms that has claimed to be socialist with the goal of reaching communism but has never claimed to be a communist society before.

[Glorious KASSRD]

It is a communist nation in the modern term. Not Marxist, yes, but Marxism is not the only communism.

Marxism isn't communism, but an ideology proposing a historical science, sociological theory, and method of bringing about revolution that will inevitably result in communism. Communism is a form of social organization that is classless, stateless, and currencyless where the means of production are socially owned and democratically administrated and where wealth is distributed according to need. Cuba is an authoritarian state capitalist society that has begun adopting market capitalist reforms that has claimed to be socialist with the goal of reaching communism but has never claimed to be a communist society before.

No, that is not the only definition of Communism. Words change their meaning over time, and Communism has too. In the modern world, to the majority of people "communism" is the type of government Cuba has, and that is because the word has changed over time.
http://geography.about.com/od/lists/tp/ ... ntries.htm
http://www.therichest.com/business/econ ... /?view=all
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Cuba
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volo ... communism/
http://www.city-journal.org/2014/24_2_havana.html
Some sites that agree Cuba is communist.

[Informationland]

This has officialy become a "semantics of communism" thread, as have all the other threads about communist dictatorships.

[Kubra]

Marxism isn't communism, but an ideology proposing a historical science, sociological theory, and method of bringing about revolution that will inevitably result in communism. Communism is a form of social organization that is classless, stateless, and currencyless where the means of production are socially owned and democratically administrated and where wealth is distributed according to need. Cuba is an authoritarian state capitalist society that has begun adopting market capitalist reforms that has claimed to be socialist with the goal of reaching communism but has never claimed to be a communist society before.

No, that is not the only definition of Communism. Words change their meaning over time, and Communism has too. In the modern world, to the majority of people "communism" is the type of government Cuba has, and that is because the word has changed over time.

then what do we call what the communist state aims at? super-communism?

[Wisconsin9]

I can think of like six places in town where I can get Coke with real sugar, and that's just off the top of my head. Hell, there are like three or four in walking distance.

a lot of places import it from Mexico since it's fairly cheap as it is + super delicious. The farther north you go the harder to gets to get, until you hit Canada and shit ceases to exist.

We have a maritime border with Canada and I can get a bottle for a dollar.

Or almost have one. It's three am, I'm tired.

[Kubra]

a lot of places import it from Mexico since it's fairly cheap as it is + super delicious. The farther north you go the harder to gets to get, until you hit Canada and shit ceases to exist.

We have a maritime border with Canada and I can get a bottle for a dollar.

Or almost have one. It's three am, I'm tired.

yeah, you'd think it'd be that easy, wouldn't you? It should be. I really wish it was.
You know how much a can of stateside vanilla or cherry coke sells for? four bucks each. Four god damn bucks. It's legit cheaper to get the it from the fucking UK. Shit's like $1.50 a can.
still, where do you find it over there? As in, how common is it? I ain't never been to Wisconsin.

[Nazi Flower Power]

OMG! I hadn't even thought of that! We need trade with Cuba NOW!!!

I can think of like six places in town where I can get Coke with real sugar, and that's just off the top of my head. Hell, there are like three or four in walking distance.

There actually is one a couple of blocks from my house, but it's more expensive than the regular Coke and it's not the same place where I go for most of my grocery shopping. It'd be easier if they just had it at the regular price in the store I normally shop at.

[Nazi Flower Power]

We have a maritime border with Canada and I can get a bottle for a dollar.

Or almost have one. It's three am, I'm tired.

yeah, you'd think it'd be that easy, wouldn't you? It should be. I really wish it was.
You know how much a can of stateside vanilla or cherry coke sells for? four bucks each. Four god damn bucks. It's legit cheaper to the shit from the fucking UK. Shit's like $1.50 a can.
still, where do you find it over there? As in, how common is it? I ain't never been to Wisconsin.

Dude, just drive across the border and stock up if you like vanilla Coke. $4 a can is ridiculous.

[Kubra]

yeah, you'd think it'd be that easy, wouldn't you? It should be. I really wish it was.
You know how much a can of stateside vanilla or cherry coke sells for? four bucks each. Four god damn bucks. It's legit cheaper to the shit from the fucking UK. Shit's like $1.50 a can.
still, where do you find it over there? As in, how common is it? I ain't never been to Wisconsin.

Dude, just drive across the border and stock up if you like vanilla Coke. $4 a can is ridiculous.

fuck that. It's like 8 hours to the nearest town from here. I like vanilla coke as much as the next guy, but not that much. And anyways, I can still grab UK vanilla coke.
While on the topic, I noticed that it's not simply the addition of Cane Sugar that makes Mexican coke taste so good. I've had filipino and pakistani coke, and they somehow don't quite measure up. They're sweeter, but not as rich. Whatever Mexico does, they do it right.
I suppose the implication here is that even if cuban cane sugar hits the market coke won't necessarily be better for making the switch.

[Wisconsin9]

We have a maritime border with Canada and I can get a bottle for a dollar.

Or almost have one. It's three am, I'm tired.

yeah, you'd think it'd be that easy, wouldn't you? It should be. I really wish it was.
You know how much a can of stateside vanilla or cherry coke sells for? four bucks each. Four god damn bucks. It's legit cheaper to the shit from the fucking UK. Shit's like $1.50 a can.
still, where do you find it over there? As in, how common is it? I ain't never been to Wisconsin.

Jesus that's ridiculous. Maybe I should start smuggling the stuff up.

Where I am, it's pretty common -- like I said, I can think of about a dozen places where I can get it for the same price as a can of American stuff. It might just be location, though, I don't know if it's as common in other cities or out in the boonies.

[Nazi Flower Power]

Dude, just drive across the border and stock up if you like vanilla Coke. $4 a can is ridiculous.

fuck that. It's like 8 hours to the nearest town from here. I like vanilla coke as much as the next guy, but not that much. And anyways, I can still grab UK vanilla coke.
While on the topic, I noticed that it's not simply the addition of Cane Sugar that makes Mexican coke taste so good. I've had filipino and pakistani coke, and they somehow don't quite measure up. They're sweeter, but not as rich. Whatever Mexico does, they do it right.
I suppose the implication here is that even if cuban cane sugar hits the market coke won't necessarily be better for making the switch.

I didn't realize "shit from the fucking UK" included vanilla Coke.

[Kubra]

fuck that. It's like 8 hours to the nearest town from here. I like vanilla coke as much as the next guy, but not that much. And anyways, I can still grab UK vanilla coke.
While on the topic, I noticed that it's not simply the addition of Cane Sugar that makes Mexican coke taste so good. I've had filipino and pakistani coke, and they somehow don't quite measure up. They're sweeter, but not as rich. Whatever Mexico does, they do it right.
I suppose the implication here is that even if cuban cane sugar hits the market coke won't necessarily be better for making the switch.

I didn't realize "shit from the fucking UK" included vanilla Coke.

My bad, I worded it all badly. It was the punchline: getting vanilla coke from across the goddamn atlantic ocean is cheaper than getting it from the states. Nothing makes sense anymore.

yeah, you'd think it'd be that easy, wouldn't you? It should be. I really wish it was.
You know how much a can of stateside vanilla or cherry coke sells for? four bucks each. Four god damn bucks. It's legit cheaper to the shit from the fucking UK. Shit's like $1.50 a can.
still, where do you find it over there? As in, how common is it? I ain't never been to Wisconsin.

Jesus that's ridiculous. Maybe I should start smuggling the stuff up.

Where I am, it's pretty common -- like I said, I can think of about a dozen places where I can get it for the same price as a can of American stuff. It might just be location, though, I don't know if it's as common in other cities or out in the boonies.

You'll make a pretty penny, really.
last time I was stateside was Seattle a couple years back. I wasn't really looking hard, but I never did find the stuff. Easy as shit to find in San Francisco, tho.

[Degenerate Heart of HetRio]

I didn't realize "shit from the fucking UK" included vanilla Coke.

In Brazil we only have normal, diet and zero Coke.

Pepsi has a lemon-flavored subset but I find it 20% as bad as diet/zero colas.

Vanilla and cherry Coke make me curious...

[Nazi Flower Power]

I didn't realize "shit from the fucking UK" included vanilla Coke.

My bad, I worded it all badly. It was the punchline: getting vanilla coke from across the goddamn atlantic ocean is cheaper than getting it from the states. Nothing makes sense anymore.

What makes it even weirder is that if you actually go to the UK everything is more expensive than in the US.

[Nazi Flower Power]

I didn't realize "shit from the fucking UK" included vanilla Coke.

In Brazil we only have normal, diet and zero Coke.

Pepsi has a lemon-flavored subset but I find it 20% as bad as diet/zero colas.

Vanilla and cherry Coke make me curious...

I don't like vanilla or cherry Coke, even though I usually love the flavor of vanilla. Some people seem to like them, though. Cherry coke is really common and has been around as long as I remember. I think vanilla came on the market more recently, but it's still been around for a while and you can find it a lot of places in the US.

[Skinia]

It is not a communist nation nor has it ever claimed to be.

It is a communist nation in the modern term. Not Marxist, yes, but Marxism is not the only communism.

*sigh* No, it is not. Why is it that people have difficulties in grasping what communism is and is not after it has been explained in this forum multiple times?

This has officialy become a "semantics of communism" thread, as have all the other threads about communist dictatorships.

Or a 'denigration of communism' thread when right-wingers like you open your mouths and blather on a subject you know next to nothing about.

[Greater Miami Shores]

It is a communist nation in the modern term. Not Marxist, yes, but Marxism is not the only communism.

*sigh* No, it is not. Why is it that people have difficulties in grasping what communism is and is not after it has been explained in this forum multiple times?

This has officialy become a "semantics of communism" thread, as have all the other threads about communist dictatorships.

Or a 'denigration of communism' thread when right-wingers like you open your mouths and blather on a subject you know next to nothing about.

I have no doubt Skinia is a nice well meaning communist or socialist. But communism as it has been practiced the world over is communism, that is the point.

[Skinia]

*sigh* No, it is not. Why is it that people have difficulties in grasping what communism is and is not after it has been explained in this forum multiple times?


Or a 'denigration of communism' thread when right-wingers like you open your mouths and blather on a subject you know next to nothing about.

I have no doubt Skinia is a nice well meaning communist or socialist. But communism as it has been practiced the world over is communism, that is the point.

Guess I'll have to do this again. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism

Communism (from Latin communis – common, universal) is a socioeconomic system structured upon common ownership of the means of production and characterized by the absence of social classes, money, and the state; as well as a social, political and economic ideology and movement that aims to establish this social order. The movement to develop communism, in its Marxist–Leninist interpretations, significantly influenced the history of the 20th century, which saw intense rivalry between the states which claimed to follow this ideology and their enemies.

[Desdenea]

I hope it holds up.

[Greater Miami Shores]

President Obama has thrown Raúl Castro a steak not a trojan horse: