I lived in Latin America for many years, although I am born citizen of the US. While I Latin America I visited Venezuela to see for myself the country during the time of Hugo Chavez- presidency. It was a remarkable place. I visited both medical and educational missions and met with Venezuelans, not government officials. It was very positive and I came away reinforced in my respect for what his presidency was accomplishing.
I posted the link on FB..with this commentary: Always what she writes is based on real world experience, Cindy Sheehan is a dear friend who suffered deeply the loss of her son Casey in the Iraq Invasion by the US. This loss was devastating because he died for one reason only: the US pushing its agenda to be the biggest prick on the block. If you want to learn why, another source is former CIA operative Jim Rickards who defends US imperialism to this day because of the USD's ability to bully the world and keep America as number one. Look him and his investment firm up. He describes clearly what he helped bring about in the Middle East and what is happening now with the death of the dollar. But frankly I don't want to live in a bully country, no matter how rich it is or I can be. I want to live in a free and just society. And so my guess do you. Right?
Because SheeLilly is a duo? I wanted to make sure that people knew it wasn't Dakotah, I guess??? LOL I am not sure when I did that, but when I am posting a thing for SheeLilly, I usually use "we, us," or our names.
There's a lot that the rest of the country does not know about Cuba that has been going on back and forth in South Florida for decades. They have incredible advantages and access never given to any other immigrants (or disadvantaged Americans for that matter) in US history.
There are various Cuban factions involved in the criminal pipeline.
'U.S. policy created for humanitarian reasons 50 years ago has fueled a criminal pipeline from Cuba to Florida, enabling crooks from the island to rob American businesses and taxpayers of more than $2 billion over two decades.
A yearlong Sun Sentinel investigation found money stolen in the United States streaming back to Cuba, and a revolving door that allows thieves to come here, make a quick buck and return.
Cuba has become a bedroom community for criminals who exploit America’s good will.
“There’s a whole new sub-class of part-time residents that flow back and forth,’’ said Rene Suarez, a Fort Myers attorney who represents Cubans charged in criminal schemes. “They tell me stories and live very comfortably in Cuba with the illegitimate money that they’re able to obtain here in the United States.”
The Sun Sentinel traveled to Cuba, examined hundreds of court documents, and obtained federal data never before made public to provide the first comprehensive look at a criminal network facilitated by U.S. law.
The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, a remarkable act of Congress passed at the height of the Cold War, gives Cubans advantages over every other immigrant group.
Cubans are allowed to enter the United States without visas or background checks of their criminal histories in Cuba. Unlike other immigrants seeking political asylum, Cubans can return home without jeopardizing their status, aiding crime rings that recruit accomplices and hide stolen money in Cuba.
The law has remained largely unchanged while financial and travel restrictions between the two countries have loosened, priming the system for abuse...'
The Cubans, and the media in Florida, especially South Florida are counter-revolutionary, wealthy Cubans fled the country after the revolution and stole billions of dollars from the economy. For DECADES they have been trying to undermine the revolution---sending spy planes, and infiltrators to kill Castro and other revolutionaries.
I would NOT trust one word written by the Sun-Sentinel on the Cuba situation, but if Cubans are sneaking into Florida and taking wealth back with them, then I say GOOD! The USA has perpetrated the most brutal blockade, also, for decades against the people and their government.
You live in Cuba agit-crap central, but I don't think you should listen to that media and look deeper. You can go to Cuba---go there. Last time I went, I went on Southwest!
It is not all black/white, there are so many factors that the rest of the country never knew.
We had no Ellis Island. The USA law allowed the most accessible advantages to Cubans. I grew up in it! I have seen ALL political factions of Cubans easily access America, when the poorest of Americans did NOT have these advantages including poor Whites, African-Americans and Puerto Ricans(they ARE Americans)! My home town of Hialeah is now Cubaleah, it is the hotbed of this Cuban criminal pipeline between Florida/Cuba. It was not just the wealthy who came, there were also professionals like teachers and doctors who fled, the Batista military who came at first and later criminals/mental patients that Castro released by the thousands, the poor & religious came seeking a better life because they knew from relatives how much better it was for Cubans in Florida due to all the advantages and access to everything poor Americans did not receive. Naturally the most easily accessible immigrant law in US history would be taken advantage of by criminals! Southwest goes to Miami too, but I would never tell you to go there. It is too dangerous in Hialeah, that is why we left. We knew that there were various factions who did not like each other on our street in S FL!
We cannot afford to give more to Cubans in Florida or in Cuba, we Americans have given up our whole past lives to the situation in S FL. Charity begins at home is my motto now.
From my vantage point growing up in S FL, the Cuban "blockade" was a misnomer. Imho, Cuba/Florida will be historically viewed as one of the most legalized Open Borders in the world! The brakes were not put on until the late 1990's when any Cuban with a "dry foot" could still enter Florida. President Obama ended "Wet Foot Dry Foot" policy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_feet,_dry_feet_policy.
To many S Floridians, the REAL BLOCKADE was against Haitians for decades. Those poor people could spend days dying on a raft, get picked up (wet or dry), sent to hospital until recovered, and then summarily deported back to Haiti soon afterwards! They only got temporary relief after the 2010 Earthquake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_deportation_in_the_United_States
You are definitely right in some regards; Cuban expats have been granted privileges that no other migrant has access to. Automatic citizenship and many other benefits have been used as part of a media and governmental campaign to discredit the Cuban system for decades. Imagine if people from Mexico or Honduras were given automatic citizenship the minute they set foot on US, people would be outraged! But because it’s to discredit socialism, everyone is ok with it
Many of the Counter-revolutionary Cubans in Florida work closely with the US government and they have massive political power out of proportion with their numbers. Also, it's like the US fomenting war in Korea, or Vietnam (North v. South) to undermine Socialism. Also happened in Afghanistan.
I went to school with many average Cubans, a few were noticeably wealthy (probably stashed in Swiss bank accounts). Most Cubans in Hialeah were lower to middle class, and it was their legal access to free interest small business loans that helped them to prosper quicker than any American!
Remember when I said ALL Cuban political factions came to Florida? Some Cuban exiles were pro-Castro before they fled. My next door neighbor boy's family fled to Spain, then they came to S FL after their relatives gave them the Hialeah house. He told me that Castro had tricked them into Communism when they were led to believe he was "freeing" Cuba from Batista, and then they were back in the frying pan again with Castro as dictator! That is when I learned many Cubans were very angry at Castro even when they were anti-Batista! Then there were the anti-Castro Kennedy haters. These varied views were the norm among the Cuban exiles. The rest of USA just wants everything to be black/white... it isn't.
Yes, of course there were counter-revolutionaries working with the US Govt (and Watergate burglars) but they were not average Cuban mothers and fathers in Hialeah back in the day. As upset as I am about the US policy that opened the floodgates into Florida, I will still defend good decent Cuban families who were simply fleeing chaos from both Batista and Castro. Many Cubans are still my childhood friends on Facebook! Reliving all this bounces me back and forth between the political and personal
"While Castro is noted for his unwavering commitment to medical, military and educational internationalism in the African diaspora, his legacy among blacks is contrasted by the treatment of Afro-Cubans in his own country. Any forms of dissent and criticism of the revolutionary government have been met with imprisonment, the majority of those are Cubans of African descent. To date, the number of executions carried out by the Cuban government is still unclear but estimates range from 10,000 to 100,000 people, with the last known executions taking place in 2003."
We haven't encouraged you to become Cuban and why would we want anyone to go back to the 1950's and live under a dictatorship. You are quoting an agit-prop US state media source to us that is complete b.s. I mean, if you think PBS is legit, just look at all of their covid/vaccine reporting. Cuba has STOPPED the death penalty and they don't execute one person, let alone 10-100k people. There is very little, if any, prejudice in Cuba where a lot of the people are Cuban-African. The culture is honored. PBS? Really?
Is this one of those black/white things that if I hate Batista then I must love Castro? I decided when I was still a schoolgirl that I am better off as an American than whatever coup a Batista/Castro dictatorship does in Cuba. It does not matter if it is backed by USA or Soviet Russia, a coup is a coup, a dictatorship is a dictatorship! Castro was complex mix of a benevolent hero and brutal dictator; he was no George Washington who stepped down after election. I learned a lot from Cuban exile children firsthand! Many lost everything. There were Cuban exiles in S FL who clearly had African heritage too, including among my classmates. One Cuban friend had Seminole in her, she looked more Native American than anybody else I knew!
You are under the misconception that all of them were "wealthy plantation owners". The majority of Cuban exiles just wanted to leave the chaos. Now they leave because they are simply better off in America with the best USA immigrant law.
Do I wish there was no USA embargo against Cuba? Yes of course, for both humanitarian and selfish reasons. We all know embargoes hurt people not politicians (doesn't matter if they are elected or dictators). But there has NEVER been a blockade of Cubans into Florida.
I now know Cubans in Central Florida too. Not everyone who leaves Cuba is rich! A Cuban friend of mine was in Housekeeping Dept where I used to work. She flies back to see family. I just met a Cuban who came over recently into my neighborhood, he knows no English and was scavenging metal from our large garbage that we set out every Wednesday in my neighborhood for pick-up. I invited him with my little Spanish and hand signals into my garage to take an old lawnmower. There is no place to escape the ramifications of Cuban coups in Florida.
By the time Chavez came along, Venezuela's real problem was pretty much unsolvable. Before 1922 Venezuela exported and processed an unbelievably rich variety of HIGH-VALUE resources, from coffee to rare woods. In 1922 we turned it into a single source for oil, with the help of Our SOB Gomez as usual. All the other industries and skills dissolved to serve the colonial master.
Just bought the paperback of your book. I know it will be as good as your others. Will watch the video too, but I've already left garbage U.S. media and politicians behind!
I lived in Latin America for many years, although I am born citizen of the US. While I Latin America I visited Venezuela to see for myself the country during the time of Hugo Chavez- presidency. It was a remarkable place. I visited both medical and educational missions and met with Venezuelans, not government officials. It was very positive and I came away reinforced in my respect for what his presidency was accomplishing.
thanks for your perspective.
I also met with many Venezolans that were not in the government and they all loved Hugo.
To a person, they said that they hoped he would be "president for life." And, sadly, they got their wish.
Both Dakotah and I have visited the barrios, community councils, and missions and have seen the good work of People Power.
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you were able to have this amazing experience and perspective! Very valuable!
I posted the link on FB..with this commentary: Always what she writes is based on real world experience, Cindy Sheehan is a dear friend who suffered deeply the loss of her son Casey in the Iraq Invasion by the US. This loss was devastating because he died for one reason only: the US pushing its agenda to be the biggest prick on the block. If you want to learn why, another source is former CIA operative Jim Rickards who defends US imperialism to this day because of the USD's ability to bully the world and keep America as number one. Look him and his investment firm up. He describes clearly what he helped bring about in the Middle East and what is happening now with the death of the dollar. But frankly I don't want to live in a bully country, no matter how rich it is or I can be. I want to live in a free and just society. And so my guess do you. Right?
thank you!
xo
Me
any time amiga any time.....
Yeah, he was pretty wise and fair, but also funny! A real human being!
I wonder why you referred to yourself in the third person?
Because SheeLilly is a duo? I wanted to make sure that people knew it wasn't Dakotah, I guess??? LOL I am not sure when I did that, but when I am posting a thing for SheeLilly, I usually use "we, us," or our names.
There's a lot that the rest of the country does not know about Cuba that has been going on back and forth in South Florida for decades. They have incredible advantages and access never given to any other immigrants (or disadvantaged Americans for that matter) in US history.
There are various Cuban factions involved in the criminal pipeline.
Follow the money...
http://interactive.sun-sentinel.com/plundering-america/ios7.html#
'U.S. policy created for humanitarian reasons 50 years ago has fueled a criminal pipeline from Cuba to Florida, enabling crooks from the island to rob American businesses and taxpayers of more than $2 billion over two decades.
A yearlong Sun Sentinel investigation found money stolen in the United States streaming back to Cuba, and a revolving door that allows thieves to come here, make a quick buck and return.
Cuba has become a bedroom community for criminals who exploit America’s good will.
“There’s a whole new sub-class of part-time residents that flow back and forth,’’ said Rene Suarez, a Fort Myers attorney who represents Cubans charged in criminal schemes. “They tell me stories and live very comfortably in Cuba with the illegitimate money that they’re able to obtain here in the United States.”
The Sun Sentinel traveled to Cuba, examined hundreds of court documents, and obtained federal data never before made public to provide the first comprehensive look at a criminal network facilitated by U.S. law.
The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, a remarkable act of Congress passed at the height of the Cold War, gives Cubans advantages over every other immigrant group.
Cubans are allowed to enter the United States without visas or background checks of their criminal histories in Cuba. Unlike other immigrants seeking political asylum, Cubans can return home without jeopardizing their status, aiding crime rings that recruit accomplices and hide stolen money in Cuba.
The law has remained largely unchanged while financial and travel restrictions between the two countries have loosened, priming the system for abuse...'
This is EXACTLY what I am talking about.
The Cubans, and the media in Florida, especially South Florida are counter-revolutionary, wealthy Cubans fled the country after the revolution and stole billions of dollars from the economy. For DECADES they have been trying to undermine the revolution---sending spy planes, and infiltrators to kill Castro and other revolutionaries.
I would NOT trust one word written by the Sun-Sentinel on the Cuba situation, but if Cubans are sneaking into Florida and taking wealth back with them, then I say GOOD! The USA has perpetrated the most brutal blockade, also, for decades against the people and their government.
You live in Cuba agit-crap central, but I don't think you should listen to that media and look deeper. You can go to Cuba---go there. Last time I went, I went on Southwest!
It is not all black/white, there are so many factors that the rest of the country never knew.
We had no Ellis Island. The USA law allowed the most accessible advantages to Cubans. I grew up in it! I have seen ALL political factions of Cubans easily access America, when the poorest of Americans did NOT have these advantages including poor Whites, African-Americans and Puerto Ricans(they ARE Americans)! My home town of Hialeah is now Cubaleah, it is the hotbed of this Cuban criminal pipeline between Florida/Cuba. It was not just the wealthy who came, there were also professionals like teachers and doctors who fled, the Batista military who came at first and later criminals/mental patients that Castro released by the thousands, the poor & religious came seeking a better life because they knew from relatives how much better it was for Cubans in Florida due to all the advantages and access to everything poor Americans did not receive. Naturally the most easily accessible immigrant law in US history would be taken advantage of by criminals! Southwest goes to Miami too, but I would never tell you to go there. It is too dangerous in Hialeah, that is why we left. We knew that there were various factions who did not like each other on our street in S FL!
We cannot afford to give more to Cubans in Florida or in Cuba, we Americans have given up our whole past lives to the situation in S FL. Charity begins at home is my motto now.
Okay
From my vantage point growing up in S FL, the Cuban "blockade" was a misnomer. Imho, Cuba/Florida will be historically viewed as one of the most legalized Open Borders in the world! The brakes were not put on until the late 1990's when any Cuban with a "dry foot" could still enter Florida. President Obama ended "Wet Foot Dry Foot" policy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_feet,_dry_feet_policy.
To many S Floridians, the REAL BLOCKADE was against Haitians for decades. Those poor people could spend days dying on a raft, get picked up (wet or dry), sent to hospital until recovered, and then summarily deported back to Haiti soon afterwards! They only got temporary relief after the 2010 Earthquake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_deportation_in_the_United_States
You are definitely right in some regards; Cuban expats have been granted privileges that no other migrant has access to. Automatic citizenship and many other benefits have been used as part of a media and governmental campaign to discredit the Cuban system for decades. Imagine if people from Mexico or Honduras were given automatic citizenship the minute they set foot on US, people would be outraged! But because it’s to discredit socialism, everyone is ok with it
It has always been so.
Many of the Counter-revolutionary Cubans in Florida work closely with the US government and they have massive political power out of proportion with their numbers. Also, it's like the US fomenting war in Korea, or Vietnam (North v. South) to undermine Socialism. Also happened in Afghanistan.
They aren't average Cubans, they are gusanos.
I went to school with many average Cubans, a few were noticeably wealthy (probably stashed in Swiss bank accounts). Most Cubans in Hialeah were lower to middle class, and it was their legal access to free interest small business loans that helped them to prosper quicker than any American!
Remember when I said ALL Cuban political factions came to Florida? Some Cuban exiles were pro-Castro before they fled. My next door neighbor boy's family fled to Spain, then they came to S FL after their relatives gave them the Hialeah house. He told me that Castro had tricked them into Communism when they were led to believe he was "freeing" Cuba from Batista, and then they were back in the frying pan again with Castro as dictator! That is when I learned many Cubans were very angry at Castro even when they were anti-Batista! Then there were the anti-Castro Kennedy haters. These varied views were the norm among the Cuban exiles. The rest of USA just wants everything to be black/white... it isn't.
Yes, of course there were counter-revolutionaries working with the US Govt (and Watergate burglars) but they were not average Cuban mothers and fathers in Hialeah back in the day. As upset as I am about the US policy that opened the floodgates into Florida, I will still defend good decent Cuban families who were simply fleeing chaos from both Batista and Castro. Many Cubans are still my childhood friends on Facebook! Reliving all this bounces me back and forth between the political and personal
So, this is the part where I empathize with ALL Cubans. I would still rather be American than a Cuban under Batista or Castro regimes.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/castro_loved-hate
"While Castro is noted for his unwavering commitment to medical, military and educational internationalism in the African diaspora, his legacy among blacks is contrasted by the treatment of Afro-Cubans in his own country. Any forms of dissent and criticism of the revolutionary government have been met with imprisonment, the majority of those are Cubans of African descent. To date, the number of executions carried out by the Cuban government is still unclear but estimates range from 10,000 to 100,000 people, with the last known executions taking place in 2003."
We haven't encouraged you to become Cuban and why would we want anyone to go back to the 1950's and live under a dictatorship. You are quoting an agit-prop US state media source to us that is complete b.s. I mean, if you think PBS is legit, just look at all of their covid/vaccine reporting. Cuba has STOPPED the death penalty and they don't execute one person, let alone 10-100k people. There is very little, if any, prejudice in Cuba where a lot of the people are Cuban-African. The culture is honored. PBS? Really?
Is this one of those black/white things that if I hate Batista then I must love Castro? I decided when I was still a schoolgirl that I am better off as an American than whatever coup a Batista/Castro dictatorship does in Cuba. It does not matter if it is backed by USA or Soviet Russia, a coup is a coup, a dictatorship is a dictatorship! Castro was complex mix of a benevolent hero and brutal dictator; he was no George Washington who stepped down after election. I learned a lot from Cuban exile children firsthand! Many lost everything. There were Cuban exiles in S FL who clearly had African heritage too, including among my classmates. One Cuban friend had Seminole in her, she looked more Native American than anybody else I knew!
You are under the misconception that all of them were "wealthy plantation owners". The majority of Cuban exiles just wanted to leave the chaos. Now they leave because they are simply better off in America with the best USA immigrant law.
Do I wish there was no USA embargo against Cuba? Yes of course, for both humanitarian and selfish reasons. We all know embargoes hurt people not politicians (doesn't matter if they are elected or dictators). But there has NEVER been a blockade of Cubans into Florida.
I now know Cubans in Central Florida too. Not everyone who leaves Cuba is rich! A Cuban friend of mine was in Housekeeping Dept where I used to work. She flies back to see family. I just met a Cuban who came over recently into my neighborhood, he knows no English and was scavenging metal from our large garbage that we set out every Wednesday in my neighborhood for pick-up. I invited him with my little Spanish and hand signals into my garage to take an old lawnmower. There is no place to escape the ramifications of Cuban coups in Florida.
Really, dissing sources is a strawman argument. Castro's repression against his own people was internationally known for decades! Castro was a Communist dictator, not a Bernie-style democratic socialist. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/26/cuba-fidel-castros-record-repression https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/11/fidel-castro-s-human-rights-legacy-a-tale-of-two-worlds/ https://www.amnesty.org.au/fidel-castros-human-rights-legacy-tale-two-worlds/
By the time Chavez came along, Venezuela's real problem was pretty much unsolvable. Before 1922 Venezuela exported and processed an unbelievably rich variety of HIGH-VALUE resources, from coffee to rare woods. In 1922 we turned it into a single source for oil, with the help of Our SOB Gomez as usual. All the other industries and skills dissolved to serve the colonial master.
http://polistrasmill.blogspot.com/2016/05/constants-and-variables-41.html
Absolutely. When he was in the military, Chavez tried to overthrow the repressive govt.
Just bought the paperback of your book. I know it will be as good as your others. Will watch the video too, but I've already left garbage U.S. media and politicians behind!
thanks so much!
Yes, I think most of us have left that garbage behind, but there is still a lot of agit-crap posted.
And, the only source for their misconceptions, and misperception has to be the agit-crap.
Anywho---question EVERYTHING!!!
As we know.
everyone needs to learn what is coming...it has to do with BRICS and survival in the US
Here is the link to the ex CIA guy who makes no apologies for who he was and how he helped in crafting the Doomsday Deal....it is all the truth. https://pro.paradigmnewsletters.org/p/awn_doomsday_0623/PAWNZ703/?h=true&ld_trk=1_16375704103058460