August 19, 2005

Why Is Specter In Cuba?

The man is chairman of the Judiciary Committee -- and the Roberts hearings are coming up. Why is Arlen Specter in Cuba meeting with Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez?

VENEZUELA'S President Hugo Chavez, a fierce critic of the United States who has threatened to stop oil supplies, has met a US Republican senator, Arlen Specter, who has also been in Cuba this week.
The left wing president met with Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the US ambassador to Caracas, William Brownfield, for two hours on Wednesday night, the Venezuelan leader said in a speech on Thursday.

The meeting came at a sensitive time in relations between the United States and Venezuela, a major supplier of oil to the US markets.

Chavez threatened last weekend to stop oil exports to the United States unless Washington halts what he called its "aggressions".

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has in turn been to Peru and Paraguay this week to lobby against the influence of Venezuela and Cuba.

Media reports quoted Specter as saying he wanted a normalisation in relations.

Before going to Venezuela, the US senator was in Cuba where he had hoped to meet President Fidel Castro but it was not known if he was successful.

I repeat -- Why?

Posted by: Greg at 12:52 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 Perhaps Arlen Specter wanted to assure Chavez that we are not against him, his government and Venzuela.

Why Cuba, if that is what you meant? My best friend went to Cuba for Deaf World Games -- she came back with no socks. Know why? She gave it all to Cuba's Women's Basketball players because they played without socks and often got blisters.

It is time to stop being silly and stop punishing a weak nation that does not want to follow the ways of our life. Let them go. WE are not punishing Castro, we are punishing people.

R-

Posted by: Me is the Ridor at Fri Aug 19 21:55:31 2005 (ODDFf)

2 Cuba is a communist state. You know, a police state. Ever wonder why people have risked their lives to flee Cuba by floating in over-loaded boats and make-shift rafts to try and make it to Florida? This has been going on for years and years!

46 years of utter tyranny, terror, abuse, human rights violations, squalor prisons...

Ok, on prisons, Vietnam signed a cooperation agreement with the European Union a decade ago, which required the Vietnamese to make some changes on their penal code, and other human rights related issues. Cuba has no such agreement with the EU because it has refused to make comparable concessions. Just don't get arrested in Cuba.

And for tourists, they are not allowed to speak with the natives their.

Also, the United States is already one of the top three suppliers of farm goods to Cuba despite the embargo..much akin to the oil for food program in Iraq during its embargo by the U.N.

And about Venezuala? The U.S. gets about 12 or 13% of its total oil imports from Venezuala. Lots of leverage. We get a little more in Mexico. Hence, is why the Administration (Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan..etc...) were reticent in challenging Mexico on the illegal aliens problem or that a simple solid fence cannot be erected along the entire border.

And Ridor, Fidel Castro is punishing his people. Pure and simple. He has the power to change and give people more rights and freedom. Which is why Cubans are willing to risk their lives to flee Cuba for the American dream.





Posted by: mcconnell at Thu Aug 25 03:29:00 2005 (xZw2C)

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