Word: embargo
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...purpose of Castro's p.r. offensive--and his dapper new suit--was very specific. He desperately wants the U.S. to end its 33-year-old trade embargo. With no more subsidies from the Soviet Union, the Cuban economy has almost ground to a halt. Normalized trade with the huge market 90 miles to the north would make all the difference in Cuba's fortunes, and the unfairness and foolishness of the embargo were the themes Castro returned to again and again. His suit, meanwhile, conveyed an aura of reasonableness that military fatigues, Castro's usual wardrobe...
...strategy seemed to work. At least five major newspapers ran editorials questioning the value of the embargo. Businessmen, many of whom are eager to go into Cuba, also seemed sold. Dwayne Andreas, head of the agricultural giant Archer Daniels Midland, attended the Rockefeller dinner and was impressed. "These communists used to be ideological crusaders," said Andreas. "But the communists of 1995 are managers of businesses. Fidel talked like the general manager of AT&T. Even his language is that of a businessman. He was talking about his working capital requirements, his depreciation problems, his repair problems...
...next day. "We have taken a host of measures," he said. "We are going to take as many more as are needed. But always in an orderly fashion." Jim Gaines, Time's managing editor, found it striking that "many in our group came away from Havana thinking the U.S. embargo against Cuba is a cold war anachronism but that Castro's reluctance about reform made him an even bigger...
Still, Castro is so eager for Americans to loosen the embargo that he personally managed the details of our encounter with him--including a stand-up buffet after his press conference so he could stroll around and work his charisma on each of his guests. At the reception he drank martinis, ate oysters, praised the Pope's sincerity and talked motorcycles. But old habits die hard: the next day, one of the dissidents scheduled to have lunch with us received an anonymous death threat under her door. She joined us anyway...
Without a doubt, the most monumental affront to the memory of those who lived and died to defeat despotism 50 years ago is the Bosnian arms embargo. In 1941, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill appealed to the United States to help supply the fight for freedom. "Give us the tools and we will finish the job." We did, and Lend-Lease proved crucial in sustaining the British during the Battle of Britain...