Sure...it'll take me some time, seeing as they're predictions that he's made during his show, so I need to look through some archives. edit: Prediction about John McCain Just another minor one (Wow, as I'm researching, I'm finding all these ridiculous sites that are like "Will Rush run in 2012?!" and that's just dumb. He would never run.) Kinda old, but he was still right Drive by media edit again: -longtime Rush listener who gave me an example
Thanks for taking the endangerment of human lives so seriously Hillary. [YOUTUBE]<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ii_c3B5AasI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ii_c3B5AasI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]
Instead of focusing on snafus, and mistakes the leaders make, why don't we focus on some good? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/13/some-cuba-travel-restrict_n_186197.html This is about 50 years overdue. And having known some people with family in Cuba, this is definitely welcome news.
The good, what's the fun in that? Pardon the pun, but I'm on the fence about this decision. Good for the families I think but to eventually open to the whole US? I'm not sold on the idea yet but maybe Obama will hold the Castros' feet to the fire about human rights, public policy, etc. Besides, if you really want to go to Cuba just connect thru Mexico or Canada.
I can make a vacation out of North Korea, Iran and Somalia if I want to, 3 countries who have recently shown hostility towards the US, and I can do that with absolutely no legal ramifications or restrictions from the US government. Yet, I can't go to Cuba, a country about 90 miles off the coast of Florida who hasn't been hostile towards us in decades. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The embargo is old and outdated, and if we're going to restrict Cuba for being communists, then why is China our biggest trade partner and a country Americans can freely travel to? Going to Cuba via Canada or Mexico isn't easy. US customs and immigration agents are well trained to spot Cuban goods you might be bringing back home and can also spot inconsistencies in passport stamps (like, if you show two entries into Canada, one from US-Canada, and another from Cuba-Canada, with no entry into another country in between, that's a huge red flag, because it means you left Canada, went to another country that didn't stamp your passport, and came back to Canada. Gee, what country could that've been?) and can pick up on nervousness one might show when answering questions at US C&I. They'll ask you where you traveled to and the agents are human lie detectors. They're damn good at what they do. The chances of being caught after visiting Cuba are pretty good, and if you get caught, it won't be pretty. BTW, just a fun fact, technically, it's not illegal to travel to Cuba, it's just illegal to spend any money there. You can say you won't spend money there, but when you purchase a plane ticket, even if you buy it from, say, Air Canada, part of the cost of the ticket are landing fees that Cuba's airports charge airlines to land there, that airlines pass on to the customer. And guess what, by buying that ticket, you just put money into the Cuban economy which is against US law. So you can swim to Cuba, or take a boat, and not spend any money over there and get away with it, but that's almost impossible to do.
I agree the policy is outdated and I give big kudos to Obama for saying enough is enough but he should (and I feel he will) do it right. The Cold War is over, Russia isnt going to try and put missiles back there again so now is a good time to thaw relations. If Obama is cool and smart enough, he could use this as an opportunity to drive a wedge between Cuba and Chavez. Cuba will be extremely important in the next 10 years to keep King Chavez in line as his influence grows in Latin America.
And I think that is Obama's intention, lpboarder. There's definitely nothing random about this decision, and I guarantee you it's to "drive a wedge" as you put it. We establish an agreement, and it could lead to new jobs not only for Americans but for Cubans as well. Cuba could definitely impact our economy and we could impact theirs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQSoq7Exhxw&feature=player_embedded Wow, this seems worse than the wire-tapping.
*EDIT* Nevermind. This is real. Very real. http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s773/show *SECOND EDIT* This is basically saying that in the event of a large scale orchestrated cyber attack (say by an enemy country) that jeopardizes our banks, and American infrastructure, that Obama can declare martial law on the internet and shut it down to protect American interests. It's not a patriot act of 2009 by the sounds of things. More like a 'how do we prevent the worst from happening' type of bill. At least that's how I perceive it. I will wait for more information to come out.
However, since it will be in-act. It doesn't stop them from shutting down websites at their free-will, outside martial law, right?