It’s TUESDAY🎉My bet is the broligarchs want Greenland so they can turn it into the world’s largest data center, and the mob wants Cuba to turn it into Isle de Vegas.🤷🏼♀️
Batista’s government came about because we tolerated if not encouraged his corruption and that of organized crime. The Castro brothers and Díaz Canel have allowed Cuba to sink into decrepitude. I have no use for the current government of Cuba, which is good only at one thing, and that is espionage. Cubans have to use ration coupons to purchase limited quantities of staple foods, and not all of their hardships are due to the embargo. Trump should leave Cuba alone. We should offer humanitarian aid to the ordinary Cuban people, but it would never occur to Trump to do this because he is transactional and a sociopath. The Cuban government would also be unlikely to permit such aid.
Racism still exists in Cuba, despite Fidel Castro’s claims it did not, and Trump would treat Afro Cubans with the same racism which he doles out to African Americans and others judged as “not white enough.” He also would offer no real economic aid to ordinary Cubans and would fail to repair any economic damage in Cuba. This is because he is only capable of chaos and wreckage. He is wrecking the economy for ordinary Americans, and he would enable some Miami exiles to create a new Cuban oligarchy the way he has helped to do here.
Sounds right to me, Kathy. Even if there were an opportunity to do good, Trump would eff it up because that is what he always has done. Bankrupted casinos. Takes some real incompetence to do that.
Yes, I think you're right. Rubio did offer the people a whopping $100 million, though, because Cuba is worth what an All-Star power forward's four-year contract amount.
The embargoes have not really worked in 60 years. Maybe we, I don't know, lift them and see what happens? If capitalism is so wonderful, let it destroy communism there, etc.
Good idea, although I think Rubio’s idea of paying the Cubans would never be realized. This is because Trump is ultimately offering the cash, and he would stiff the Cubans of his offer. Trump’s promises of payment are usually worthless.
The Cubans were able to find other nations which could help support them. The Soviets kept Fidel afloat until the Soviet Union started breaking apart in the late 1980s. You are correct that the embargo was not the source of all Cuba’s problems. It wasn’t effective at keeping Cuba from getting much needed foreign goods. Much of what Cuba produces goes to the corporation Raúl Castro runs and ultimately goes to higher Party officials, reserved for special foreign guests, or goes to the tourist industry.
Several years ago, news reports covered food riots occurring in Cuba, and much of was because the government was experiencing a shortage of staple foods. Ordinary Cubans have to use ration books or coupons to purchase goods like beans and rice, and to purchase goods in shorter supply, such as pork, chicken and beef. This wasn’t due to the embargo, but to poor distribution decisions by the government left less food for ordinary people. The army arrested protesters and carted them off to prison, but they haven’t solved the problems with food shortages.
Greg, outstanding, thanks, especially appreciate the historical perspectives. You wrote, "It’s almost like Venezuela, an inexplicable undertaking in the moment, was a chessboard move whose entire purpose was to set up an attack on Cuba."
Yes, it seems that way. But...this keystone kops administration couldn't play checkers, no less chess. The Cuban people have been oppressed for decades. They deserve a better life. The oval office idiot's track record does not bode well. To date everything the dumbass administration has done has only made Cubans' lives worse, just as has happened here and Iran. The last thing Cuba needs is a very mentally ill dumbass standing on the steps of El Capitolio tossing rolls of paper towels into a crowd, this assuming a crowd shows up. This the extent of his idea of "helping".
My first thought was that Mr. Bloated Ankles/Bruised Hands/Sleepy Don wouldn't make the trip down, but then again he couldn't pass up an opportunity for a photo op in Havana, probably cutting the ribbon on the site of the next Trump casino or hotel. But I'm sure it would be just one day, then he would turn it over to "Little Marco" as a reward for selling his soul to support OHG (Orange Hole of the Galaxy).
"Mr. Trump, you need to come to Havana and stay at the gleaming new hotel and casino and meet the showgirls," and then we divert the plane to Gitmo. I like it.
I think Rubio is capable of playing chess, and this is what Rubio wants. Donald is a dolt, but his people are capable of great cleverness when there's money to be made and evil to be done...
"All I can say for sure is that, in 2026, Trump wants to party like it’s 1898."
Good one, Greg!
U.S.--Cuba relations: what a mess for a very long time. Obama started to mitigate things, but Trump-I put a stop to that.
Rubio: rich people never forget, do they? Nor their children. "Mine! Mine! Mine!"
Look, if Cuba wanted to voluntarily enter into a relationship with the U.S., that would be great. The 51st state...whatever. I've thought for years that the best thing the U.S. could do to help Mexico and Central America (and maybe some parts of South America) is to offer to make them states. That would cut down on illegal immigrants by making conditions better in their home countries. Yeah, we'd have to send in some troops to deal with the juntas, guerillas, etc., but it could bring peace to those communities, reduce the illegal drug trade, trafficking, etc. It might be good for everyone--IF it isn't just another colonial rape of the land for resources, de facto enslavement of the people, etc.
AND: it has to be voluntary, not through invasion and conquering with military force. And it has to be without forcing them by starving the population so they are dying of hunger or lack of medication or...
Thank God Trump hasn't pursued the absurd proposal of annexing Greenland. I'll bet Putin would have loved the position that put NATO in. I wonder what stopped him? NATO countries sending in some troops to help defend Greenland should it be necessary?
What crazy times we are living through. Bad for our ulcers, good for Big Pharma selling us all the anti-anxiety drugs, bad for people taking fentanyl to deal with mental and physical suffering. Will the country survive? We can only hope and pray.
In the meantime, I recommend a pre-bed routine of listening to Sir Paul McCartney sing on the last episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" (he sounds good!):
I wonder if McKinley would have annexed it back in 1898, if he'd known what would happen...to Cuba and to him in Buffalo...
Annexing Greenland is no different, legally, than annexing Copenhagen. Europe can't allow that. I think that's what stopped him, and probably popular opinion wasn't rah-rah enough to overcome it.
The health system is good, too, and there are other metrics where they are by far the best in the region. Even with the embargo. The trick is to keep that but throw off the despotism.
Rubio promised “$100 million dollars in food and medicine for you, the people” which doesn’t seem like much, these days, especially for a very nice piece of tropical real estate. Seems like diddly squat, like real estate rape. Maybe they should clean up the previous messes they’ve made.
BTW, Our Man In Havana is a good movie and interestingly filmed in Cuba within a couple of months of Castro overthrowing Batista, so there’s some actual history in the background of some scenes.
It seems to me that US-Cuba relations have been particularly complicated when we had a president and Secretary of State who were law abiding and committed to the Constitution. Is our current regime so incompetent that they might accidentally make things better?
The usual excellent, informative piece of journalism. AND followed by a collection (at this time) of excellent women commentators - myself definitely not included.
Please forgive what is about to be an appalling display of off-thread distraction, she said nervously; but you, Greg Olear, are the sole USA citizen from whom I need a response, as a truly erudite person, to this podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9MubNsh3rs&t=2082s.
I have been struggling with trying to describe the unease in my ancient head about all of you; and I wonder if this is a satisfying explanation.
I have no idea how else I could reach you to ask - very sorry ...
I just watched a few minutes of it, and she seems to have a good handle on all of it.
We are not stupid. I mean, we are, but no stupider than anyone else. We have been attacked, psychologically, by the most powerful military-grade psy-op ever conceived. It focuses on fear and division, ignores the root causes of the problems (ie the oligarchs), and overwhelms our brains with so much content that it's impossible to sift through it all. Also, the architecture of our government makes it almost impossible to change the things that need to change to actually solve the problem: so few SCOTUS judges, Citizens United, corporations unfettered control, Senate needs to be proportional to population somehow, electoral college rigs the system, etc. The system can be salvaged but not without massive change in that underlying architecture. And the fascists, so close to the finish line, are running faster, while the corporations, which have no morality, help them. It's a bit shitshow that will not change without a major near-cataclysmic event. Insurrection didn't change it. Plague didn't change it. Trump corruption hasn't charged it. What can? I don't know.
Great piece, Greg. Have you seen my dispatch from my little corner of the global shit show? https://sharondymondd.substack.com/p/etsy-enshittification-and-alligator?r=1jucbk&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Thanks, Sharon! And thanks for sharing.
It’s TUESDAY🎉My bet is the broligarchs want Greenland so they can turn it into the world’s largest data center, and the mob wants Cuba to turn it into Isle de Vegas.🤷🏼♀️
Agreed. Also "rare earths."
The man wants to be the Manifest Destiny president. I suspect he won't be able to pull it off, just because of who he is.
"Manifest Destiny" Genocide!
Just this hemisphere, Vlad gets the rest, if China agrees
To him, "Manifest Destiny" is the UFC fight on the lawn.
Hahahaha!
Batista’s government came about because we tolerated if not encouraged his corruption and that of organized crime. The Castro brothers and Díaz Canel have allowed Cuba to sink into decrepitude. I have no use for the current government of Cuba, which is good only at one thing, and that is espionage. Cubans have to use ration coupons to purchase limited quantities of staple foods, and not all of their hardships are due to the embargo. Trump should leave Cuba alone. We should offer humanitarian aid to the ordinary Cuban people, but it would never occur to Trump to do this because he is transactional and a sociopath. The Cuban government would also be unlikely to permit such aid.
Racism still exists in Cuba, despite Fidel Castro’s claims it did not, and Trump would treat Afro Cubans with the same racism which he doles out to African Americans and others judged as “not white enough.” He also would offer no real economic aid to ordinary Cubans and would fail to repair any economic damage in Cuba. This is because he is only capable of chaos and wreckage. He is wrecking the economy for ordinary Americans, and he would enable some Miami exiles to create a new Cuban oligarchy the way he has helped to do here.
Sounds right to me, Kathy. Even if there were an opportunity to do good, Trump would eff it up because that is what he always has done. Bankrupted casinos. Takes some real incompetence to do that.
Deconstructionist
Yes, I think you're right. Rubio did offer the people a whopping $100 million, though, because Cuba is worth what an All-Star power forward's four-year contract amount.
The embargoes have not really worked in 60 years. Maybe we, I don't know, lift them and see what happens? If capitalism is so wonderful, let it destroy communism there, etc.
Good idea, although I think Rubio’s idea of paying the Cubans would never be realized. This is because Trump is ultimately offering the cash, and he would stiff the Cubans of his offer. Trump’s promises of payment are usually worthless.
The Cubans were able to find other nations which could help support them. The Soviets kept Fidel afloat until the Soviet Union started breaking apart in the late 1980s. You are correct that the embargo was not the source of all Cuba’s problems. It wasn’t effective at keeping Cuba from getting much needed foreign goods. Much of what Cuba produces goes to the corporation Raúl Castro runs and ultimately goes to higher Party officials, reserved for special foreign guests, or goes to the tourist industry.
Several years ago, news reports covered food riots occurring in Cuba, and much of was because the government was experiencing a shortage of staple foods. Ordinary Cubans have to use ration books or coupons to purchase goods like beans and rice, and to purchase goods in shorter supply, such as pork, chicken and beef. This wasn’t due to the embargo, but to poor distribution decisions by the government left less food for ordinary people. The army arrested protesters and carted them off to prison, but they haven’t solved the problems with food shortages.
How much hand does Roger Stone have in this? His long-time association with militant Cuban expats makes me suspicious
Had not even thought of that, but you're right, he's got to be involved somehow, if only in his own mind.
tRumpworld is small, yo. The same characters appear over and over again
Greg, outstanding, thanks, especially appreciate the historical perspectives. You wrote, "It’s almost like Venezuela, an inexplicable undertaking in the moment, was a chessboard move whose entire purpose was to set up an attack on Cuba."
Yes, it seems that way. But...this keystone kops administration couldn't play checkers, no less chess. The Cuban people have been oppressed for decades. They deserve a better life. The oval office idiot's track record does not bode well. To date everything the dumbass administration has done has only made Cubans' lives worse, just as has happened here and Iran. The last thing Cuba needs is a very mentally ill dumbass standing on the steps of El Capitolio tossing rolls of paper towels into a crowd, this assuming a crowd shows up. This the extent of his idea of "helping".
My first thought was that Mr. Bloated Ankles/Bruised Hands/Sleepy Don wouldn't make the trip down, but then again he couldn't pass up an opportunity for a photo op in Havana, probably cutting the ribbon on the site of the next Trump casino or hotel. But I'm sure it would be just one day, then he would turn it over to "Little Marco" as a reward for selling his soul to support OHG (Orange Hole of the Galaxy).
Anti-OHGers, unite!
Shapeshifting Marco.
"Mr. Trump, you need to come to Havana and stay at the gleaming new hotel and casino and meet the showgirls," and then we divert the plane to Gitmo. I like it.
Haha, the paper towels, good Lord.
Thanks, Old Man.
I think Rubio is capable of playing chess, and this is what Rubio wants. Donald is a dolt, but his people are capable of great cleverness when there's money to be made and evil to be done...
So true. The dumbass may be creating more billionaires than anybody, corrupt people using him and his administration to get there.
47’s Cuba policy is SOP mafia extortion.
Pretty much.
"All I can say for sure is that, in 2026, Trump wants to party like it’s 1898."
Good one, Greg!
U.S.--Cuba relations: what a mess for a very long time. Obama started to mitigate things, but Trump-I put a stop to that.
Rubio: rich people never forget, do they? Nor their children. "Mine! Mine! Mine!"
Look, if Cuba wanted to voluntarily enter into a relationship with the U.S., that would be great. The 51st state...whatever. I've thought for years that the best thing the U.S. could do to help Mexico and Central America (and maybe some parts of South America) is to offer to make them states. That would cut down on illegal immigrants by making conditions better in their home countries. Yeah, we'd have to send in some troops to deal with the juntas, guerillas, etc., but it could bring peace to those communities, reduce the illegal drug trade, trafficking, etc. It might be good for everyone--IF it isn't just another colonial rape of the land for resources, de facto enslavement of the people, etc.
AND: it has to be voluntary, not through invasion and conquering with military force. And it has to be without forcing them by starving the population so they are dying of hunger or lack of medication or...
Thank God Trump hasn't pursued the absurd proposal of annexing Greenland. I'll bet Putin would have loved the position that put NATO in. I wonder what stopped him? NATO countries sending in some troops to help defend Greenland should it be necessary?
What crazy times we are living through. Bad for our ulcers, good for Big Pharma selling us all the anti-anxiety drugs, bad for people taking fentanyl to deal with mental and physical suffering. Will the country survive? We can only hope and pray.
In the meantime, I recommend a pre-bed routine of listening to Sir Paul McCartney sing on the last episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" (he sounds good!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG0HFw0edXY&list=RDzG0HFw0edXY&start_radio=1
So right, Sir Paul on Colbert, a better high than any drug can offer!
Thanks, my friend.
I wonder if McKinley would have annexed it back in 1898, if he'd known what would happen...to Cuba and to him in Buffalo...
Annexing Greenland is no different, legally, than annexing Copenhagen. Europe can't allow that. I think that's what stopped him, and probably popular opinion wasn't rah-rah enough to overcome it.
Trump getting pantsed is simultaneously hilarious and nauseating--a visual for our time!
Sorry...I'd already used "humiliated" in the previous paragraph, and that struck me as funny. But yeah...gross.
Cubas Organic Revolution kept Monsanto at bay.
The Cuban Henry Reeve Brigade humanitarian aspects are commendable.
The health system is good, too, and there are other metrics where they are by far the best in the region. Even with the embargo. The trick is to keep that but throw off the despotism.
Rubio promised “$100 million dollars in food and medicine for you, the people” which doesn’t seem like much, these days, especially for a very nice piece of tropical real estate. Seems like diddly squat, like real estate rape. Maybe they should clean up the previous messes they’ve made.
BTW, Our Man In Havana is a good movie and interestingly filmed in Cuba within a couple of months of Castro overthrowing Batista, so there’s some actual history in the background of some scenes.
Thanks, Teri. Great point. With Trumpflation, it's barely enough to collect all the trash in Havana.
I read the book, by Graham Greene, ages ago, but I will check out the movie.
It seems to me that US-Cuba relations have been particularly complicated when we had a president and Secretary of State who were law abiding and committed to the Constitution. Is our current regime so incompetent that they might accidentally make things better?
It's Delusional Disorder
Unlikely but no outcome would surprise me.
The usual excellent, informative piece of journalism. AND followed by a collection (at this time) of excellent women commentators - myself definitely not included.
Please forgive what is about to be an appalling display of off-thread distraction, she said nervously; but you, Greg Olear, are the sole USA citizen from whom I need a response, as a truly erudite person, to this podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9MubNsh3rs&t=2082s.
I have been struggling with trying to describe the unease in my ancient head about all of you; and I wonder if this is a satisfying explanation.
I have no idea how else I could reach you to ask - very sorry ...
Thank you!
I just watched a few minutes of it, and she seems to have a good handle on all of it.
We are not stupid. I mean, we are, but no stupider than anyone else. We have been attacked, psychologically, by the most powerful military-grade psy-op ever conceived. It focuses on fear and division, ignores the root causes of the problems (ie the oligarchs), and overwhelms our brains with so much content that it's impossible to sift through it all. Also, the architecture of our government makes it almost impossible to change the things that need to change to actually solve the problem: so few SCOTUS judges, Citizens United, corporations unfettered control, Senate needs to be proportional to population somehow, electoral college rigs the system, etc. The system can be salvaged but not without massive change in that underlying architecture. And the fascists, so close to the finish line, are running faster, while the corporations, which have no morality, help them. It's a bit shitshow that will not change without a major near-cataclysmic event. Insurrection didn't change it. Plague didn't change it. Trump corruption hasn't charged it. What can? I don't know.
You can always email me at gregolear at gmail.
It’s not chess repubs play, it’s mafia mania with as much violence as is required
They beat us over the head with a marble chessboard...
👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻