this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2023
224 points (94.8% liked)

World News

38581 readers
1843 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] febra@lemmy.world 66 points 1 year ago (3 children)

And rightfully so. The US isn't the world police and doesn't have the right to block entire countries just because they feel like it. Just imagine China or Russia doing the same to some random European country. The double standards speak volumes. This is not the way.

[–] severien@lemmy.world 32 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Well Russia is currently bombing a European country which I personally consider much worse than an embargo.

[–] febra@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Well, I'm sorry, but I don't see how two wrongs makes a right. This is some massive whataboutism. Both an embargo on Cuba and Russia bombing other countries are horrendous activities.

[–] severien@lemmy.world -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sure, but the comment I was replying to made a direct comparison with Russia.

[–] febra@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

First and foremost, that was my comment. Secondly, it still doesn't make it okay. It's not a real argument. If the US can pull this shit off, why can't Russia or China. I'm not excusing their actions, but just look at it from the perspective of someone from one of those countries. They see the US invading countries, putting embargos on others, and a bunch of other crap. Why shouldn't they do the same? The invasion of Iraq was just as justified as the invasion of Ukraine. Same shit based on bullshit arguments. Yet somehow one is more acceptable than the other. I'd rather not have any of them. And I'm from Eastern Europe just for context :)

[–] severien@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I'm not justifying anything. I was just reacting to this:

Just imagine China or Russia doing the same to some random European country.

Which was a weird sentence - we don't have to imagine anything, Russia is already doing much worse.

[–] Ubermeisters@lemmy.zip -3 points 1 year ago

It's not whataboutism, you made a comment and this was a valid reply to the content of your comment in context.

-unconcerned outsider

[–] fiat_lux@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The US this year has launched airstrikes in Syria, Somalia and possibly Yemen. That is not somehow better, just because they're not a European country. And even if it were better, another country doing really shitty things is not a good argument for why a separate country can do maybe-less-shitty-but-still-shitty things.

Cuba has been under full trade embargo by the US for over 60 years, after the US Bay of Pigs Invasion failure. Russia only has sanctions and embargoes by the US on some products though, despite invading a European country. How does that happen?

[–] GreatGrapeApe@reddthat.com -2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

The Russian population in the USA isn't demanding we embargo Russia whereas it is Cuban-Americans leading that charge in FL.

Edit changed Cubans to Cuban-Americans as TheDankHold pointed out my error.

[–] febra@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Cuban-Americans are americans. They're not citizens of Cuba. And just because a minority wants an embargo on another country doesn't mean you should just play world police. That's not your place to decide who trades with whom. If you don't wanna do trade with them, then don't.

[–] TheDankHold@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

It is actually Americans leading that charge, they’ve been here long enough to qualify as Americans first and foremost imo. And that doesn’t mean anything regardless, how do the citizens that live on the island feel about the embargo?

[–] GreatGrapeApe@reddthat.com 0 points 1 year ago

Thanks I edited my comment to reflect the necessary change.

Why should Cubans determine the policy of other countries? Do I get a say in how Cuba does business?

Im not asking those flippantly. What you are suggesting makes no sense given how reality functions.

[–] kaffiene@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago
[–] Neon@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

the US isn't blockading Cuba, they're just embargoing it. There's a difference.

[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's not a direct blockade, but the US has in the past threatened to cut off financial aid to any country that trades with Cuba, disallows foreign subsidiaries of US companies to trade, and even threatens sanctions upon foreign companies that do any trade in or with the US that also trade in Cuba.

The UN has cited to condemn it every year for many years, with usually only the US and Israel voting against. They say it is a violation of international law and the UN charter.

It is abhorrent and unjustifiable, and has a real cost in human lives and suffering.

[–] febra@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Well the americans here seem to think that if they call one thing legal then it must be legal, because after all they're playing world police. And then they wonder why two thirds of the world despise their government..

[–] GreatGrapeApe@reddthat.com -3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The USA, like any country, has the right to decide who they trade with and the right to suggest the terms under which they are willing to engage in trade. Other nations have the right to accept those terms or not.

I do not support the embargo but it is ignorant to suggest it is illegal.

[–] febra@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It is illegal lol. An embargo is not "we don't trade with you". An embargo is "no one is allowed to trade with you and we'll turn their economies and their ships into shambles if they do".

[–] GreatGrapeApe@reddthat.com -3 points 1 year ago

No it isn not illegal and you'll have difficulty proving that like others have.

We are embargoing Cuba yet most of the EU trades with them so it really sounds like you don't know what embargoes are.

For example Havana Club rum is sold throughout Europe and Europeans can spend money in Cuba without reprisal. What they can't do as per our agreements is sell them arms.