Monday, December 07, 2015

Happy Hanukkah to our Jewish friends

We remember all of our Jewish friends today!

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December a bad month for the Latin American left

Two weeks ago, the people of Argentina made a peaceful turn to the right.  Yesterday, Venezuela made a sharp turn away from “Chavizmo”.
Socialism has not been good for Latin America.  It has created bloated governments, corrupt public sector unions and high taxes.  The net result is an underachieving economy.
Like Cuba, socialism in Venezuela was also anti-democratic.   It put the opposition in jail, closed media and intimidated voters.
Congratulations to our friends in Venezuela.   They put a fatal dagger in “Chavizmo”.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

Tags: Elections in Venezuela  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Cuba and the U.S. talking about claims



We understand that Cuba and the U.S. will now be tackling the issue of claims, or the millions of dollars confiscated from U.S. citizens in the early 1960s. This is from the New York Times:
The meeting is considered a major step because the United States’ trade embargo against Cuba was initially enacted after Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader at the time, expropriated land from American companies.
Nearly 6,000 people and corporations lost homes, farms, factories, sugar mills and other properties totaling $1.9 billion.
Now, for the first time, Cuba has agreed to meet to consider settling those losses.
The State Department is expected to announce the meeting on Monday. A Cuban Embassy spokeswoman declined to comment.
We want to be optimistic but don’t underestimate Castro’s intentions.   
In other words, the Castro regime may be looking for a trade, i.e. we settle the claims and you compensate us for the embargo. Under such a trade, Cuba would come out ahead and get the cash to settle the claims now valued at $ 7 billion.   
Let’s hope that the Obama administration goes into these negotiations trying to defend U.S. citizens rather than engaging in some “we apologize” mode.   
The bottom line is that the Castro regime stole this property and targeted Americans, such as the man that a member of our family worked for. He owned a small manufacturing company and was an outstanding citizen who created jobs and prosperity in the island. He didn’t deserve to have his property stolen just because Castro had to demonize the U.S. while he closed newspapers, put the opposition in jail and refused to hold elections.   
There is something in this article that worries me:
“Obama is a very good negotiating partner for them to have as opposed to President Trump or President Bush or even President Hillary,” he added, referring to Donald J. Trump, Jeb Bush or Hillary Clinton.
Yes, the Cubans will ask for the moon hoping that a weak Obama will give it to them. The Cuban regime wants Gitmo, the end of the embargo, compensation for the embargo, lots of U.S. cash and an apology that everything was America’s fault.  
Let’s hope that the Obama administration goes in with one message: Settle the claims and I’ll get back to you about the other stuff.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

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The week in review with Bill Katz, editor of Urgent Agenda





Tags: ISIS terror and Obama, Venezuela elections, 2016 elections and San Bernardino  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

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