Gov. Richardson pushes New Mexico exports to Cuba

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Gov. Richardson pushes New Mexico exports to Cuba
By Associated Press

7:32 p.m. EDT, August 25, 2009

HAVANA (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has met with Ricardo Alarcon, president of Cuba's parliament, as well as members of the island's chamber of commerce as he heads a trade mission there this week.

Richardson met with Alarcon on Monday. On Tuesday he visited chamber of commerce President Pedro Alvarez and Igor Montero, president of Alimport, the Cuban government agency responsible for agricultural commerce.

Richardson released a statement saying his delegation held "productive discussions" promoting the idea of exporting potatoes, wheat, apples and beef from New Mexico to Cuba. He returns to New Mexico Friday.

Cuba has been subject to a U.S. embargo since 1962, but U.S. states are authorized to sell agricultural and certain other products to Cuba.



Read more: http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-cb-cuba-richardson,0,5299718.story

[aquart]

1. Normalization would facilitate these endeavors.

AND IT'S BLOODY ABOUT TIME!

I assume we've arranged to normalize ten seconds after hearing Fidel is dead? I hate it when we are jackasses.

[comtec]

2. its not like we can afford to NOT trade with people anymore

good for Richardson, I assume he's not a R.
even if he is, that's good for the state.
this is all such stupid BS, the only one's suffering from this embargo are the americans (everyone else in the world trades with Cuba)

[pipoman]

4. Gov. Richardson ran for the Democratic nomination

for president at least the last 2 election cycles. He would have made a great vice candidate bringing the traditional rural and blue collar dems firmly back into the party.

edit...he is also Hispanic and loved by many Mexican immigrants, another demographic the party sorely needs to maintain the presidency.

[nightrain]

7. Richardson is also not without some issues....

Hubris, control, ?ethics (pay for play) at times. And he's done some very wonderful things for NM. Very mixed bag....

[pipoman]

8. Aren't they all a mixed bag?

[nightrain]

9. maybe. some transgressions seem more important than others to me though...

[Judi Lynn]

5. There are legal conditions which make it impossible for companies in other countries

to sell MANY kinds of vital materials to Cuba, due to our own (Jesse)Helms-Burton Act, which has extraterritorial reach, and, according to many countries which were wildly angry the moment it was passed, it is ILLEGAL in international law.

Any products made in other countries which have even one small part which has a patent in the U.S., products like cancer treatment machines, dialysis machines, water purification machines, screening equipment, cameras, etc., etc., etc. cannot be sold to Cuba for any reason.

One ugly example is a small Cuban schoolboy who entered an international art contest, and was one of several winners. He went to the award ceremony in Europe, and when the prizes were given the winners, he was not allowed to have his prize as it was a camera with a part with a US patent in it. The other kids got their prizes, he went home.

The Cuban government heard about this and awarded him a very nice camera they located which had NO American components.

This was a "benign" example. It gets far worse when people realize life-saving hospital diagnostic and treatment equipment isn't allowed into Cuba because of the 50 year old embargo, the longest embargo, economic war on a country in history. People have died because Cuba has been so stripped of life-saving hospital materials.

Is this punishment exacted upon them for their destructive, aggressive behavior toward the U.S.? No. It's because Cuba refuses to be controlled by the U.S. which will NOT allow them their right to their long-sought independence which they won long ago from Spain, but not from political powers in the U.S. They are NOT allowed to choose a socialist form of government and live free of constant pressure and hardship.

For anyone who wishes to drag the Cuban Missile Crisis up, from the 1960's, please remember the Missile Crisis immediately followed the Bay of Pigs INVASION, and they were not removed by Russia until the U.S. promised never to invade Cuba, again, although, as we well know, decades of terrorism from various U.S. agencies, and the Cuban "exile" community have plagued Cuba with bombings of their passenger aircraft, assassinations of their ambassadors, bombings of their island, strafing of their beaches, shooting at tourists near the hotels, bombs in restauarants, discoteques, etc., poisoning of livestock, burning of crops, bombing of department stores, and targeted killings of specific Cubans on the island by armed groups from the states have been going on until the present, with public boasting being made as recently as a few years ago by Rodolfo Frometa, of Comandos F-4, after shooting a Cuban man they hated, and some policemen by Commandos from Florida who successfully fled the country back to Florida after the murders.

Along the way various Cuban "exiles" are discovered from time to time with enormous ammunition and arms caches they are expecting to use against Cubans in more raids. They have been captured waddling ashore in Cuba, heavily armed, and shown on Cuban tv, although for various reasons the corporate media here never bothers to inform us of this. The news has to come from other countries, of course.

The embargo needs to end, Americans should go to Cuba themselves, instead of Cuban "exiles" themselves, and their families, alone. This special right for Cuban "exiles" which is not allowed ordinary Americans is dirty, and ugly. It all allows the right-wing sector in the United States to control foreign policy toward Cuba for the whole country. We have never had a say in it. That's completely UNdemocratic.

The embargo is real, it is severely destructive. It is called "El Bloqueo" in Cuba.

http://files.nireblog.com.nyud.net:8090/blogs/alocubano/files/bloqueo-contra-cuba3.jpg http://rreloj.files.wordpress.com.nyud.net:8090/2009/01/bloqueo.jpg http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu.nyud.net:8090/2008/10/21/cubamundo/bloqueo.jpg http://p5geografia.files.wordpress.com.nyud.net:8090/2009/02/bloqueo4.jpg http://www.cubadebate.cu.nyud.net:8090/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/bloqueo.jpg

[comtec]

6. I know we don't trade medicines, i was not aware ff the patent issue

which is just plain evil.

[Vidar]

3. Bravo Gov. Richardson!