Tuesday, December 09, 2008

The End of the End of the Revolution - Castro's Cuba at 50 - NYTimes.com

It's sneaking up on me that we're a few weeks from the 50th anniversary of Castro. What to do about it? Read stuff about Cuba. I'm recommending one good summary of the Cuba situation in the Sunday NY Times magazine:

The End of the End of the Revolution - Castro's Cuba at 50 - NYTimes.com

You can read and read and not find a whole lot of new information. Toward the end I found a nugget in this:

Cuba is some way down Obama’s priority list. But early in his presidency, another Democratic president, Jimmy Carter, did something that changed views of him in the hemisphere: he negotiated, against all the odds, the transfer of sovereignty over the Panama Canal to Panama. It seems clear enough that a breakthrough of similar proportions with Cuba would bring a major reconciliation with Latin America.


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Even better might be reading the new book on Cuba by veteran journalist Reese Erlich titled "Dateline Havana - The Real Story of US Policy and the Future of Cuba." It includes searing exposes of the Cuban Lobby and up to date reporting from Cuba based on 40 years of experience as well as recent visits. Sean Penn in his current Nation article about Raul Castro quotes from his book several times. Erlich will in Miami on WLRN's "Topical Currents" 1-2 PM on Jan.5th and may be speaking at Books and Books in Coral Gables at 8 PM that evening. Erlich's entire tour schedule will be posted eventually at: http://p3books.com/datelinehavana/
If anyone there has suggestions for additional media leads in south FL, we would appreciate them.

Larry Thorson said...

Thanks for the tip, Dave. The Times article's mention of Jimmy Carter and the Panama Canal is refreshing my memory of how controversial anything re Latin America can be in the USA. Some people never give up on the idea that Carter gave away the canal. What will happen when someone, maybe BO, does something dramatic on Cuba? It will be unforgettable.