Things going on in Cuba...

[Nicole44 22057]

I hope they can sustain it and that the crowds only get bigger as the sun goes down. Protests in 5 cities and counting. I fear for them but hope they can persevere. 62 years of shit govt. enough is enough. 

[BabaYaga 15286]

5 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

They do, but it is dated. I track Latin American militaries and Cuba is not the power they once were.

 

Man, just so much can wrong with scenarios like this.  It can spiral into a full scale civil war in the blink of an eye and atrocities, once started, tend to gain momentum.  Everyone that wants change is unarmed.  The guys with the keys to the castle are also the ones with the guns.  Back them into a corner far enough, and it can be horrendous.  

[InkaUtexas 25857]

I think most of us can do this. 

[InkaUtexas 25857]

Just now, BabaYaga said:

Man, just so much can wrong with scenarios like this.  It can spiral into a full scale civil war in the blink of an eye and atrocities, once started, tend to gain momentum.  Everyone that wants change is unarmed.  The guys with the keys to the castle are also the ones with the guns.  Back them into a corner far enough, and it can be horrendous.  

I would watch the young officers and the non-secret police. If they stay in the barracks the regime is fucked. 

[Parliament 14237]

Going into Cuba in any substantive way before a semi-legitimate "government" asks us to is a non starter.  Beirut, Somalia, Benghazi.  Bad juju.  We just gotta hope and pray the Communist government falls fast.  Doesn't hafta fall easy, so long as it falls fast.

[hayden_horn 11362]

Just now, BabaYaga said:

Man, just so much can wrong with scenarios like this.  It can spiral into a full scale civil war in the blink of an eye and atrocities, once started, tend to gain momentum.  Everyone that wants change is unarmed.  The guys with the keys to the castle are also the ones with the guns.  Back them into a corner far enough, and it can be horrendous.  

 

[bad_teammate 13185]

7 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

seriously, i don't get it. i love talking about political stuff on the cloak room board. i don't try to bring baseball into the football forum.

If you could explain the difference between "politics" and "not politics" that would be great.

It's a thread advocating meddling and regime change for the purpose enriching US corporation. Can you tell me how that is not "political" when my first post here is?

[DDD Dad 14324]

47 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

It's so sad that you guys consider this a right-wing safe space.

 

[BabaYaga 15286]

3 minutes ago, Parliament said:

Going into Cuba in any substantive way before a semi-legitimate "government" asks us to is a non starter.  Beirut, Somalia, Benghazi.  Bad juju.  We just gotta hope and pray the Communist government falls fast.  Doesn't hafta fall easy, so long as it falls fast.

The fear of course is if/when it falls, how many does it take with it?

[MoJames 8244]

1 minute ago, BabaYaga said:

The fear of course is if/when it falls, how many does it take with it?

Where is our list and what are the odds, I'm in.

[hayden_horn 11362]

2 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

If you could explain the difference between "politics" and "not politics" that would be great.

It's a thread advocating meddling and regime change for the purpose enriching US corporation. Can you tell me how that is not "political" when my first post here is?

i wish i could explain it. it would make my job moderating a hell of a lot easier. i understand your point. it's really taken a lot of restraint for me not to just move the thread over to cloak room. anytime we start discussing some country's regime, it gets pretty gray pretty fucking quick.

[MoJames 8244]

How much you get paid?

[bad_teammate 13185]

5 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

The fear of course is if/when it falls, how many does it take with it?

Exactly, which is why we should stay the fuck out of other nations' business.

[hayden_horn 11362]

Just now, MoJames said:

How much you get paid?

[atomheartbevo 89625]

9 minutes ago, Nicole44 said:

I hope their protests hold together. It’s both a scary moment and a beautiful one.

It's looking like they are.  That video that Rip76 posted above shows that civilians are not all running away from the military/police (although they are paying a helluva price).

Have we reached the point of the dam bursting yet? Not yet, I think you'd have to see the police/military give up outlying cities for that, and it may have happened, since we aren't getting much info out of those places.  I was young(er) when the Soviet Union fell apart, and I don't think we've reached that point yet.  

Some are comparing it to Romania - shit started there in December of 89, with a small and very focused protest around some religious leader opposed to the government.

• 17 Dec - Military forces and police fired openly upon demonstrators, killing a bunch
• 18 Dec - Ceaușescu visited Iran (potentially trying to deescalate things, but his wife and lackies pissed off the protestors)
• 20 Dec - He comes back, he gave a televised speech bitching about the riots, which were apparently unknown to a big chunk of the country, and the Streisand effect took over.
• 21 Dec - He held a big meeting, gave a big speech, bitched about the rioters, and the crowd turned on him after 8 minutes of his speech.  He promised new benefits, raising the minimum wage, etc., and he still lost control of things, fled into a building. Bucharest openly revolted, police/military put it down ruthlessly and arrested hundreds.
• 22 Dec - All major Romanian cities were in open rebellion.  Ceaușescu took control of the military after the defense minister killed himself, but the military didn't trust that he wasn't murdered, and many switched sides, and officers gave up trying to protect the government.  Ceaușescu made one more speech, but the crowds threw shit at him.  Ceaușescu and Co. got to the choppa on the roof and fled.
• 23 or 24 Dec - Military shut down the airspace and took their helicopter and arrested them.
• 25 Dec - Ceaușescus were put on trial and executed.

[DDD Dad 14324]

5 minutes ago, Nicole44 said:

I remember how much all of the surly posters were horrified at any action being taken against protesters here. Hopefully they are equally outraged watching this happen in Cuba. 

Oh come on.  Is this really necessary?

I mean, is ANYONE on the side of the Cuban government in this thread?  

[InkaUtexas 25857]

I hope it goes quickly, but that is not how Latin America tends to work. We tend to bleed for years. 

[MoJames 8244]

2 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

Oh come on.  Is this really necessary?

I mean, is ANYONE on the side of the Cuban government in this thread?  

I can play devil's advocate if needed?

[Nicole44 22057]

Her tweets on Cuba are awesome. 
 

 

[cactusflinthead 27598]

22 hours ago, AUS-97HORN said:

glad to see that even after 62 years, the first response by their governemnt is to blame the US. 

 

20 hours ago, gmr548 said:

It’s funny because the only CR-esque content in this thread is people very obviously trying to bait conflict.

Short term you kind of just see where it goes I suppose. The US doesn’t have a ton in the Cuba toolbox outside of using force, which is obviously a really significant threshold.

@hayden_horn

Do it. Take off the governor and move it.

[bad_teammate 13185]

6 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

I mean, is ANYONE on the side of the Cuban government in this thread?  

the logic never changes

 

[Hank Scorpio 17729]

Looks like the US needs to invade. What could go wrong? 

[hayden_horn 11362]

1 minute ago, cactusflinthead said:

 

@hayden_horn

Do it. Take off the governor and move it.

i dunno, i kind of want to see the mia khalifa direction and maybe move it somewhere other than cloak room

[DDD Dad 14324]

dp

Edited July 12, 2021 by DDD Dad

[DDD Dad 14324]

1 minute ago, bad_teammate said:

the logic never changes

 

 

Wut?

[MoJames 8244]

Just now, Hank Scorpio said:

Looks like the US needs to invade. What could go wrong? 

[blacklab 11926]

Don’t move the thread hayden

For all of you that want to move the thread start a new thread in cr

if you see a post deleted it’s because it belongs in cr

[workswithseed 2088]

8 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

Oh come on.  Is this really necessary?

I mean, is ANYONE on the side of the Cuban government in this thread?  

@bad_teammate called the protest astroturf, so probably him.

[Nicole44 22057]

1 minute ago, hayden_horn said:

i dunno, i kind of want to see the mia khalifa direction and maybe move it somewhere other than cloak room

She’s awesome. A Lebanese woman porn star. And she’s kinda a Longhorn having gone to UT El Paso. And she’s actively calling the Cuban Dictator a POS on Twitter. She seems surly worthy.  Y’all need to interview her on the podcast. 

[DDD Dad 14324]

1 minute ago, blacklab said:

Don’t move the thread hayden

For all of you that want to move the thread start a new thread in cr

if you see a post deleted it’s because it belongs in cr

Go get 'em Bob!

[BabaYaga 15286]

3 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

i dunno, i kind of want to see the mia khalifa direction and maybe move it somewhere other than cloak room

[hayden_horn 11362]

2 minutes ago, blacklab said:

Don’t move the thread hayden

For all of you that want to move the thread start a new thread in cr

if you see a post deleted it’s because it belongs in cr

just trying to call balls and strikes. also, intrigued by the porn star direction. lol.

[AUS-97HORN 11756]

6 minutes ago, cactusflinthead said:

 

@hayden_horn

Do it. Take off the governor and move it.

what in the holy fuck are you quoting me for?    im not advocating for anything in that post. 

I literally pointed out that the absolute first fucking thing the current government of Cuba did was blame the fucking US. 

[MoJames 8244]

Anyway to incorporate astroturf and Mia?

[blacklab 11926]

Hayden, Much like porn, you know it when you see it. 

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

Anyway to incorporate astroturf and Mia?

I could give Mia astroturf burns on her knees while eating a Cuban sandwich.

[MoJames 8244]

Just now, Patricio Swayze said:

I could give Mia astroturf burns on her knees while eating a Cuban sandwich.

[cactusflinthead 27598]

3 minutes ago, AUS-97HORN said:

what in the holy fuck are you quoting me for?    im not advocating for anything in that post. 

I literally pointed out that the absolute first fucking thing the current government of Cuba did was blame the fucking US. 

Yep, the news can be political can't it? Strange how that works.

[MoJames 8244]

Just now, cactusflinthead said:

Yep, the news can be political can't it? Strange how that works.

Your face is political

[DDD Dad 14324]

3 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

I could give Mia astroturf burns on her knees while eating a Cuban sandwich.

Well now I'm hungry and aroused.

[Rip76 4924]

 

[cactusflinthead 27598]

Just like CR used to be. Boy howdy it feels like old times.

[atomheartbevo 89625]

32 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

seriously, i don't get it. i love talking about political stuff on the cloak room board. i don't try to bring baseball into the football forum.

it's the strangest fucking thing.

It's like when you're talking to a kid, and a topic comes up they don't want to talk about, and so they deliberately try and change the topic by saying things deliberately designed to get the topic changed, or in this case get it moved to a different forum. 

Dad: "I heard there are some kids stealing lunch money, did you hear anything about that?"

Kid: "No, but but did you know that Principal Smith has been stealing panties from Ms. Johnson the school nurse?  I saw them come out of the supply closet and Ms. Johnson was saying something about how she can't keep her panties on around him!"

Mom: "So Tommy, I heard there is a school play in a couple of weeks, are you going to be in it?"

Okay, bad analogy, but they aren't even hiding the fact that they are trying to get it moved to CR, as if they are the arbiter of what threads are allowed in the current event forum.

[MoJames 8244]

2 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

It's like when you're talking to a kid, and a topic comes up they don't want to talk about, and so they deliberately try and change the topic by saying things deliberately designed to get the topic changed, or in this case get it moved to a different forum. 

Dad: "I heard there are some kids stealing lunch money, did you hear anything about that?"

Kid: "No, but but did you know that Principal Smith has been stealing panties from Ms. Johnson the school nurse?  I saw them come out of the supply closet and Ms. Johnson was saying something about how she can't keep her panties on around him!"

Mom: "So Tommy, I heard there is a school play in a couple of weeks, are you going to be in it?"

Okay, bad analogy, but they aren't even hiding the fact that they are trying to get it moved to CR, as if they are the arbiter of what threads are allowed in the current event forum.

Tell me more about Ms. Johnson.

[bolverk 29652]

@Nicole44 Cuba 512 is a pretty good resto for Cuban grub in Austin. They used to have a couple of locations, but I think Covid killed their downtown one.

[atomheartbevo 89625]

2 minutes ago, MoJames said:

Tell me more about Ms. Johnson.

She probably went by a different name at your school.  And probably had a different position.  But make no mistake, panties were being dropped.

Well, maybe not your school - I don't know how old you are, but a lot of my teachers came of age during the 60s with Free Love, Vietnam, etc.

I wish when I was in my late teens/early 20s, I had been chasing older women who came of age during that time.

But I digress.

[MoJames 8244]

Just now, atomheartbevo said:

But I digress.

[Cajun 11705]

30 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

i dunno, i kind of want to see the mia khalifa direction and maybe move it somewhere other than cloak room

I strenuously second this!!!

[atomheartbevo 89625]

48 minutes ago, Nicole44 said:

I hope they can sustain it and that the crowds only get bigger as the sun goes down. Protests in 5 cities and counting. 

47 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Man, just so much can wrong with scenarios like this.  It can spiral into a full scale civil war in the blink of an eye and atrocities, once started, tend to gain momentum.  Everyone that wants change is unarmed.  The guys with the keys to the castle are also the ones with the guns.  Back them into a corner far enough, and it can be horrendous.  

If the protests are in 5 known cities and counting, we very well could get the Romanian scenario.

Some analyst (wrote a book on the fall the Soviets/Eastern Europe, forgot the name), said today was crucial - if the government couldn't snuff out the protests today, and it expanded, then we are getting into the territory BabaYaga is talking about.  He said it could accelerate much faster simply because of social media - the old guard in Europe was actually able to keep a lot more people in other cities in the dark (Ceaușescu fucked up with one of his speeches being broadcast nationwide, allowing other cities to realize what was going on).

I remember having to watch the Soviet Union/Berlin Wall on cable news, with no way to get anything past what they had on TV.  This is kind of wild.

 

[Cajun 11705]

34 minutes ago, Nicole44 said:

Her tweets on Cuba are awesome. 
 

 

She seems smart