Neither me or my wife received anything from anybody in our lives. We worked hard to get where we are and its probably a lot further than you. Having handled everything from estates to investments to mortgage lending over a 30+-year career in my observation no one has a sense of entitlement like estate beneficiaries who have never amounted to anything on their own but have an internet connection and post complaints about people who are less fortunate that could use help.
I don't want or need help. My point is the idealogues who complain that about everyone being communist should look within and assess how they got to where they are.
Do you even know what 'rich' even means?
The Owners of the Country
Does that include the thousands upon thousands of boat people that crossed to the U.S. for a better life?
The reason the US is pissed is because the sin-bin operation that the US elites had going on in Cuba was cancelled. There is no other reason as the human rights of people in the area were handled by the death squads that the School of the Americas trained and turned loose to kill many 1,000's that were killed. Time to grow up.
You mean 'better life' by not being under US sanctions right? Do you even know the sanctions that were in place?? or that any were in place??
https://www.mcgrathnorth.com/publications/summary-of-the-u-s-embargo-against-cuba/
Scope of the Embargo
General. The embargo against Cuba is comprehensive. Subject to certain narrow exceptions, the Cuban Embargo Regulations prohibit almost all direct or indirect commercial, investment, trade and other business activity involving Cuba, Cuban property or Cuban nationals.
There are severe criminal, administrative and civil penalties for violating the embargo. Criminal penalties include up to 10 years in prison, and up to $1,000,000 in corporate fines and $250,000 in individual fines. Additional penalties, such as civil fines, loss of exporting privileges and debarment from government contracts may be imposed on both the individual and the company found to be in violation of the Cuban embargo.
Jurisdiction. The Cuban Embargo Regulations generally apply to: (a) U.S. citizens and permanent residents, wherever located; (b) persons located within the U.S.; (c) legal entities organized under the laws of the U.S.; and (d) any entity, wherever organized and doing business, which is owned or controlled by any of the foregoing. In sum, the Cuban Embargo Regulations apply to most U.S. businesses and their foreign subsidiaries and branches. The Cuban Embargo Regulations could also apply to partially-owned foreign affiliates, such as joint ventures, which are deemed to be “owned or controlled” by the U.S. company. The determination whether an entity is “owned or controlled” by a U.S. corporation can be extremely fact sensitive and should be made in consultation with legal counsel.
Importing from Cuba. Subject to certain narrow exceptions, goods or services of Cuban origin may not be imported into the U.S., either directly or through third countries.
Exporting to Cuba. No products, technology or services may be exported from the U.S. to Cuba, either directly or through third countries. A limited exception is available for certain exports of food products to Cuba, as discussed below.
Food and Agricultural Commodity Exports. The Trade Sanctions and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 allowed certain sales of U.S.-origin foods and agricultural commodities to Cuba under a process called “License Exception AGR”. A list of the eligible products is available on the BIS website and includes most food products for human consumption but does not include certain agricultural inputs such as pesticides, insecticides or herbicides. The exception does not apply to exports of agricultural technology or equipment. In addition, the License Exception AGR is not available to exporters of non-U.S.-origin food products, such as for example, a foreign subsidiary of a U.S. company interested in exporting foreign food products directly to Cuba.
Under the License Exception AGR, prospective exporters of U.S.-origin food products must obtain prior confirmation from BIS that no U.S. Government agency objects to the proposed export. Prospective exporters may initiate the process by submitting to BIS a written notification. BIS then informs the exporter within 11 business days whether any objections have been raised to the export. If no objections are raised, the exporter may proceed with the export, but must continue to comply with various rules and conditions, e.g. (i) the proposed export must be made pursuant to a written contract and must take place within 12 months of the signing of the contract; (ii) the exporter may not substitute items that were not included in the original notification sent to BIS; (iii) any changes to the Cuban purchaser/end-user of the product will require a new notification to BIS, etc.
Exports under License Exception AGR are also subject to strict rules regarding payment and financing. The regulations prohibit U.S. persons from providing payment or financing terms for authorized sales of agricultural goods to Cuba or to any entity in Cuba other than through “payment of cash in advance” or financing by third country banks. OFAC has recently defined “payment of cash in advance” to mean that the seller/exporter must receive payment for the goods before the goods are shipped from the port at which they are loaded. U.S. banking institutions may not provide the financing for authorized exports to Cuba.
Transactions Involving Property in Which Cuba or a Cuban National Has an Interest. The Cuban Embargo Regulations prohibit any person or entity subject to the regulations from engaging in transactions involving property in which Cuba or a Cuban national holds an interest. Both “property” and “interest” have traditionally been defined broadly by OFAC to include goods, services, technology, any type of interest, direct or indirect, tangible or intangible. For example, a U.S. company would be prohibited from signing a contract with any party, wherever located, if the contract includes Cuba-related provisions.
Dealing with “Specially Designated Nationals” of Cuba. The Cuban Embargo Regulations prohibit dealings with certain individuals or entities, wherever located, which are deemed to be agents or instrumentalities of the Cuban government. OFAC publishes a list of such Specially Designated Nationals, which is frequently updated and requires continuous monitoring. However, the published list is not deemed to be exhaustive, and U.S. companies must conduct due diligence and take reasonable care to make certain that their foreign partners, contract parties or customers are not acting on behalf of Cuba.
Travel to Cuba. Travel to Cuba is severely restricted by the Cuban Embargo Regulations and most U.S. persons may not travel to Cuba. The exact scope of the travel restrictions and the rules governing authorized travelers to Cuba change often and require continuous monitoring.
Some travelers may be authorized under a “general license” from OFAC to engage in travel to Cuba. The “general license” is available to several categories of travelers, mostly as part of non-commercial activities (journalists, official government travelers, etc.).
School of Americas
Founded by the United States in 1946, the SOA was initially located in Panama, but in 1984 it was kicked out under the terms of the Panama Canal Treaty and moved to the army base at Fort Benning, Georgia. Then-President of Panama Jorge Illueca called it "the biggest base for de-stabilization in Latin America," and a major Panamanian newspaper dubbed it " The School of Assassins."
Today, SOA instructors and students are recruited from the cream of the Latin American military establishment. The School trains 700-2,000 soldiers a year, and since its inception in 1946, more than 60,000 military personnel have graduated from the SOA.
If the SOA concentrated its training on protecting country borders from foreign aggression or safeguarding citizens from invasion by outside enemies, it would be considered an exemplary institution, worth the cost of American tax dollars and US prestige. But, the SOA has very different goals. Its curriculum includes courses in psychological warfare, counterinsurgency, interrogation techniques, and infantry and commando tactics. Presented with the most sophisticated and up-to-date techniques by the US Army's best instructors, these courses teach military officers and soldiers of Third World countries to subvert the truth, to muzzle union leaders, activist clergy, and journalists, and to make war on their own people. It prepares them to subdue the voices of dissent and to make protesters submit. It instructs them in techniques of marginalizing the poor, the hungry, and the dispossessed. It tells them how to stamp out freedom and terrorize their own citizens. It trains them to destroy the hope of democracy.
The School of the Americas (SOA) has been given other names -- "School for Dictators", "School of Assassins", and "Nursery of Death Squads". And, countries with the worst human rights records send the most soldiers to the School.
Countries / Graduates (since 1946)
Argentina / 931
Bolivia / 4,049
Brazil / 355
Chile / 2,405
Colombia / 8,679
Costa Rica / 2,376
Dominican Republic / 2,330
Ecuador / 2,356
El Salvador / 6,776
Guatemala / 1,676
Honduras / 3,691
Nicaragua / 4,693
Panama / 4,235
Paraguay / 1,084
Peru / 3,997
Uruguay / 931
Venezuela / 3,250
When they return to their home countries, graduates of the SOA hold a rather unique and peculiar view of their countrymen. They look upon priests, social workers, journalists, and liberal intellectuals, not as assets to their societies, but as dangerous subversives, working to undermine the system that keeps these soldiers, army officers, and their sponsors in power.
Graduates of the SOA have been among the most repressive tyrants in Latin America, and their actions have been some of the most cruel and violent. In El Salvador, in 1989, a Salvadoran army patrol executed six Jesuit priests as they lay face-down on the ground at Central America University. According to the United Nation's Truth Commission Report on El Salvador in 1993, 19 of the 27 officers who took part in the executions were trained at the SOA.
In 1990, in El Salvador, populist Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated. Three-quarters of the Salvadoran officers implicated in the killing were trained at the SOA. Roberto D'Aubuison, the late leader of El Salvador's Death Squad, was implicated in the plot to assassinate Archbishop Romero. He also participated in numerous murders, including a massacre in the village of El Mazote, where more than 900 men, women, and children were killed. He graduated from SOA as well.
The U.N. Truth Commission's statistics reveal the extent of the School's murderous role in El Salvador .
Romero assassination 3 officers cited --- 2 were SOA graduates
Murder of US nuns 5 officers cited --- 3 were SOA graduates
Union leader murders 3 officers cited --- 3 were SOA graduates
El Junquillo massacre 3 officers cited --- 2 were SOA graduates
El Mazote massacre 12 officers cited --- 10 were SOA graduates
Dutch journalist murders 1 officer cited --- he was an SOA graduate
Las Hojas massacre 6 officers cited --- 3 were SOA graduates
San Sebastian massacre 7 officers cited --- 6 were SOA graduates
Jesuit massacre 26 officers cited --- 19 were SOA graduates
In other Latin American countries, graduates of the SOA have been equally prominent enemies of human rights. Former dictators Omar Torrijos of Panama, Guillermo Rodriguez of Ecuador, and Juan Velasco Alvarado of Peru, all overthrew constitutionally elected governments in their countries. Leopoldo Galtieri, the former head of the Argentina junta defeated in the Falklands War, was responsible for thousands of "disappeared" citizens who supported freedom and democracy in Argentina, and paid the ultimate price with their lives. He was an SOA graduate.
So the only reply to 'Do you even know what 'rich' even means?' is a red??? hahaha and you considered yourself to be balanced??
