Things going on in Cuba...

[Brisketexan 105041]

 
if it’s russian equipment, they are beyond fucked 

If it’s Russian equipment….isnt it all a copy of western equipment manufactured 20 years earlier? Surely we have some mothballed plants from 1930 to be raided?

[Gatorubet 30183]

12 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

If it’s Russian equipment….isnt it all a copy of western equipment manufactured 20 years earlier? Surely we have some mothballed plants from 1930 to be raided?

Louisiana: “Hey!! Leave the New Orleans sewage and water board alone!!”

[InkaUtexas 25853]

15 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

If it’s Russian equipment….isnt it all a copy of western equipment manufactured 20 years earlier? Surely we have some mothballed plants from 1930 to be raided?

Maybe. But funny is a lot of that shit worked. In the 1950's USSR tried to make their own equipment. They have some good examples. Aircraft is (was) one of them like the TU-95, IL-76, etc. But that is about it. Well we still have the Lada.

I dub the 1960s era of Russian History the Lada Era. Probably the last legacy item.

[Samson's Wig 3189]

3 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Is this a trick question?  Here's what being 100% hawkish dicks on Cuba gets someone: VOTES, from the Cuban exile community (mostly in Fla).  That's it.  That's the entire driver of our policy on Cuba -- the votes of Cuban Americans who hate the Cuban regime with every fiber of their being (don't entirely blame them, but it's a short-sighted and one-dimensional "policy" that we have as a result).

Here's a great article about a buddy of mine and what lengths those hawks will go to in order to keep the status quo: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2005/07/the-assassination-of-alberto-coll.html

[BabaYaga 15286]

37 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

Here's a great article about a buddy of mine and what lengths those hawks will go to in order to keep the status quo: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2005/07/the-assassination-of-alberto-coll.html

All true.  Not about Cuban voting, but a country the intelligence agencies have spent decades trying to overthrow and assassinate it's leadership is going to continue to be demonized.  Cold War out front and recent Russian nuclear sub in it's harbor should have told ya'.  

[Samson's Wig 3189]

37 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

All true.  Not about Cuban voting, but a country the intelligence agencies have spent decades trying to overthrow and assassinate it's leadership is going to continue to be demonized.  Cold War out front and recent Russian nuclear sub in it's harbor should have told ya'.  

If what happened to Alberto doesn't make your blood run cold at the thought of the lengths our government will go to destroy an individual just for holding an opinion that differs from those in power, even when it's one of their own, I don't know what will.   We're run more like a communist regime than we like to think. We just flip which assholes are in power from time to time, so those being persecuted get a brief respite while a new group gets a turn.  As for the Cuban government, count me in the club that thinks communists are pieces of shit, due in large part to the inevitable violence baked into their supposed cupcake ideology.  However, I also agree with those who think the best way to subvert the Cuban system and gain some measure of influence over the country is to normalize relations.  The CIA is a joke and has been pretty much since its inception.  Cuba is perhaps the ultimate example of their ineptitude.   We shouldn't be letting those clowns dictate policy.  Ever.

[BamaATL 16593]

4 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

if it’s russian equipment, they are beyond fucked 

Interesting thought, if the equipment is as old and antiquated as reported, the reality might be that the parts aren't standardized and would require machinists with the know how.  While that sounds easy, it sure as hell isn't.  

[CHIEF 5075]

2 hours ago, BamaATL said:

Interesting thought, if the equipment is as old and antiquated as reported, the reality might be that the parts aren't standardized and would require machinists with the know how.  While that sounds easy, it sure as hell isn't.  

My dad went on a mission trip to Cuba in about 2016 or 2017. He said he was absolutely in awe of their resourcefulness. Out in the country, tractors were used as much for transportation (pulling carts that could fit 18-20 people), as they were for agricultural use. They all had bald tires with a million plugs, and he said you couldn't imagine engines that they had retrofitted. Everything from old Volvo diesels, to Chevy inline sixes, and other stuff that he thought was Russian, or possibly South American in origin. If something broke they would work for weeks recasting or repairing a part from what little they had. They did have a few welders and some guys that he said were pretty damn good blacksmiths.

CHIEF

[creeper 98]

Stayed at the Hotel Nacional in Havana for a few nights a decade ago. The room was kinda sketch, but the common areas and views were as gorgeous as they're portrayed on TV. I had to head to the lobby anytime I needed to relieve myself. They just couldn't get the toilet in the room to work.

[RPM 26315]

2 hours ago, BamaATL said:

Interesting thought, if the equipment is as old and antiquated as reported, the reality might be that the parts aren't standardized and would require machinists with the know how.  While that sounds easy, it sure as hell isn't.  

Just get a Cuban mechanic to work on it. If he can keep a 53 Studebaker on the road, this should be a cinch.

[tx 3 putt 76859]

2 hours ago, BamaATL said:

Interesting thought, if the equipment is as old and antiquated as reported, the reality might be that the parts aren't standardized and would require machinists with the know how.  While that sounds easy, it sure as hell isn't.  

 

exxon, dow, motiva, every company you can name is running equipment installed in the 50’s. they’ve upgraded all associated systems for sure and keep all the recommended spares 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4974]

Lol, spares? Naw, we act surprised when some old piece of junk craps out and then the folks on the ground have to scramble to keep things running until the parts come in. 

[atomheartbevo 89618]

4 hours ago, creeper said:

Stayed at the Hotel Nacional in Havana for a few nights a decade ago. The room was kinda sketch, but the common areas and views were as gorgeous as they're portrayed on TV. I had to head to the lobby anytime I needed to relieve myself. They just couldn't get the toilet in the room to work.

Or they couldn't get the camera in the room's bathroom to work, so they broke the toilet (or they were too cheap to install a camera in every room).

[atomheartbevo 89618]

3 hours ago, RPM said:

Just get a Cuban mechanic to work on it. If he can keep a 53 Studebaker on the road, this should be a cinch.

I fucking hate when we turned people back to Cuba, who had the balls to cross 90 miles of open ocean water and the brains to do it with a 1950s Chevy or Studebaker they turned into a boat, or a homemade boat they built on the sly out of all kinds of junk.

They make it within a few miles of shore, bring them on in, given them a small business loan, and see where they are at a year or two later.  Somebody that driven and industrious is going to have their own auto or machine shop turning a profit if given a chance.

[InkaUtexas 25853]

6 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

I fucking hate when we turned people back to Cuba, who had the balls to cross 90 miles of open ocean water and the brains to do it with a 1950s Chevy or Studebaker they turned into a boat, or a homemade boat they built on the sly out of all kinds of junk.

They make it within a few miles of shore, bring them on in, given them a small business loan, and see where they are at a year or two later.  Somebody that driven and industrious is going to have their own auto or machine shop turning a profit if given a chance.

I was taught Cubans are the exception. What you are describing are Haitians. Cuz they eat cats?

Cubans are picked up and brought to shore. Others if found at sea are sent right back. This is why Gitmo was not used for them but has been used to house (detain) non-Cuban or Islamic extremists

[Evil Bill Obrien 3256]

18 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

Nah, just rub some vodka on it, it will be fine. Like a T34.

Or just break out the ol Jeremy Clarkson Tool Kit:

 

[CycleTex87 2965]

I mean, CenterPoint could get the lights back on very quickly.  WCGW?

[Schulz2.0 28950]

Cuba continuing to have issues with blackouts.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/26/cuba-power-grid-failure-financial-crisis

[Chad Fuck 17658]

On 10/21/2024 at 11:43 AM, Bevo said:

I'd buy that middle sports car. Is it an Austin Healey?

I suspect its a 1958 Ford Thunderbird

[Longhornstampede 3180]

On 10/22/2024 at 6:46 AM, InkaUtexas said:

I was taught Cubans are the exception. What you are describing are Haitians. Cuz they eat cats?

Cubans are picked up and brought to shore. Others if found at sea are sent right back. This is why Gitmo was not used for them but has been used to house (detain) non-Cuban or Islamic extremists

Not true from 94 to 96. There were about 40k Cubans housed in tent cities at Gtmo. They had been brought from Howard AFB after setting fire to their tent cities in Panama. 

Edited October 28 by Longhornstampede

[InkaUtexas 25853]

6 hours ago, Longhornstampede said:

Not true from 94 to 96. There were about 40k Cubans housed in tent cities at Gtmo. They had been brought from Howard AFB after setting fire to their tent cities in Panama. 

True, but weren't they picked up in Non-US waters?

[Bevo 13559]

Just saw that Teófilo Stevenson died about 12 years ago - anyone remember him?

[DigglerontheHoof 21168]

2 hours ago, Bevo said:

Just saw that Teófilo Stevenson died about 12 years ago - anyone remember him?

The pro boxer who kicked the shit out of amateurs for years. 

[Bevo 13559]

1 hour ago, DigglerontheHoof said:

The pro boxer who kicked the shit out of amateurs for years. 

 

I just remember him from the Olympics. Did he fight any of the greats of the time?

[DigglerontheHoof 21168]

33 minutes ago, Bevo said:

 

I just remember him from the Olympics. Did he fight any of the greats of the time?

Greats as in Ali, Frazier, etc?  No.  He never fought pro (that I know of) so that he could keep his amateur status and mop up in the Olympics.  The only American I recall him fighting in the Olympics is Duane Bobick in 72. 

[Longhornstampede 3180]

7 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

True, but weren't they picked up in Non-US waters?

Yes

[Schulz2.0 28950]

Hit by a 6.8 earthquake.

https://apnews.com/article/cuba-earthquake-hurricanes-natural-disaster-c28bbf4496a1bbe27a39f80728d63b2d

Edited November 11 by Schulz2.0

[atomheartbevo 89618]

Outside of the ground shaking, will they notice?

[InkaUtexas 25853]

Alright, the ultimate irony. Ecuador has a major power problem. The US Embassy needs to augment power generation on an emergency buy. In bold is the name of the company the US Government selected in a no-bid contract. The justification has me shaking my head.

 

The US Embassy Quito, Office of Contracting, intends to award a sole source contract to Cubano Agricultural Management CAM S.C.A. for the purchase of Emergency Electric power stations with backup portable solar panels. Cubano Agricultural Management CAM S.C.A. is uniquely qualified to meet the specific security operating requirements of the US Embassy Quito due to their proprietary technology and proven track record of providing solutions that meet the standards.

[JMFP 1120]

2 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

Alright, the ultimate irony. Ecuador has a major power problem. The US Embassy needs to augment power generation on an emergency buy. In bold is the name of the company the US Government selected in a no-bid contract. The justification has me shaking my head.

 

The US Embassy Quito, Office of Contracting, intends to award a sole source contract to Cubano Agricultural Management CAM S.C.A. for the purchase of Emergency Electric power stations with backup portable solar panels. Cubano Agricultural Management CAM S.C.A. is uniquely qualified to meet the specific security operating requirements of the US Embassy Quito due to their proprietary technology and proven track record of providing solutions that meet the standards.

Makes sense if you think about it... Somebody's going to be giving the Cuban 1%ers backup power even if the rest of the island is dark. 

But I bet their "proprietary tech" is an antique Kohler with a crusty Ural engine.