zydeco

Starting to look like a win/win for both the US and Saudi Arabia and an even bigger loss for Russia. Now, Russia will lose even more money from ng shipments to Europe. And the US, whose ng was slumping with the Saudi oil glut can maintain the integrity of its fracking/shale oil costs by selling it to Europe. Looks like Vladimir Putin has outsmarted himself again.

Venezuela can only look on with envy. Who could have ever imagined this a decade or so ago. Potentially, Cuban supermarket shelves bursting with goods and Venezuela looking Starvation Alley.

Wroonnggg...To sell to Cuba the US will have to subsidy the goods to compete with China and Mexico. Most Cubans do not have money to buy those products Anyway..Cuba will resell back to Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela and any other country with high taxes in imports and with consumers of those kind of products to balance the trade with them. May even send it back to Miami depending in cost. Cuba will imposs a lot of restriction to US investors, the same its have for other foreign businesses. Probably will be exeptions just for the tourism and hotel sector like the ones in place now.

Castros still alive and well! Congrats to Cuba!

This is a static view of Cuba and the world. Many things will be changing in Cuba. And it can rely on a stream of people, investments, and businesses that are 90 miles away. Or a group of "high quality" tourists and investors from China. Ask the Thais about how that last one is working out.

Looks like you do not know why California real estate is in rebounds...The Chinesse are buying everything they can!

By the way...I lived and worked in Cuba for 2 years..I am from Brazil. Cuba never will be back to Batista times and USA dominance and corruption. Never.

Tell it to the Vietnamese, who are begging the US to come back. As will Cuba as soon as soon as the octogenarian Castros pass away.

Venezuela can only look on with envy. Who could have ever imagined this a decade or so ago. Potentially, Cuban supermarket shelves bursting with goods and Venezuela looking Starvation Alley.

Wroonnggg...To sell to Cuba the US will have to subsidy the goods to compete with China and Mexico. Most Cubans do not have money to buy those products Anyway..Cuba will resell back to Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela and any other country with high taxes in imports and with consumers of those kind of products to balance the trade with them. May even send it back to Miami depending in cost. Cuba will imposs a lot of restriction to US investors, the same its have for other foreign businesses. Probably will be exeptions just for the tourism and hotel sector like the ones in place now.

Castros still alive and well! Congrats to Cuba!

This is a static view of Cuba and the world. Many things will be changing in Cuba. And it can rely on a stream of people, investments, and businesses that are 90 miles away. Or a group of "high quality" tourists and investors from China. Ask the Thais about how that last one is working out.

Good luck USA!

Selling to Cuba?...What? At what prices?

Only trading for overpriced cigars or rhum!

Cuba already have trade agreements in place with China....

You do understand, don't you, that it has been Cuba, not the US, which has been crying for an end to the US trade embargo?

Venezuela can only look on with envy. Who could have ever imagined this a decade or so ago. Potentially, Cuban supermarket shelves bursting with goods and Venezuela looking Starvation Alley.

Enjoyed his movies, he had a good run RIP

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001792/bio

I cant believe they didn't mention "The Mercenaries" is his bio, (aka "Dark of the Sun) based on the Wilbur Smith novel.

A great action movie in its day.

Yes it was and still is. And, if you're living in Thailand, it pops up several times a year on Truevisions' Cinemax.

Yes, I am here in Thailand but I swapped Truevision for CTH when they lost the rights to the Premier League. I presume the version they show is an edited one, same as they've shown from time to time on Turner Network Television.

I would love to be able to find the original cinema version but it doesn't seem to exist, all the versions available for sale seem to be the tv version.

I have heard it's easily available through downloading.

It really was a slap in the face for the US to only send their ambassador... Pretty much tells the tale... But this didn't stop Dianne Feinstein from vomiting into a microphone that terrorist cells have been activated in the US...

The Attorney General was there.

I think it was weird that at least the VP wasn't sent.

Actually, I think Obama might have blundered into doing the right thing, here. The fact is that these latest terror incidents in France were relatively small. The French are all excited, as they should be, because it happened in France. (BTW, I remember hearing quite a few reports and interviews from Paris and London after 9/11, where French and English said it was America's fault it was attacked.) Just how do the French now refuse not to attend every terror attack in the world where 20 people or fewer are killed? They will seem like hypocrites--French lives matter and, say, Nigerian ones, don't. On the other hand, Hollande and the French could elect to attend similar commemorations for terrorist atrocities around the world. But if they do so, they're going to be doing it almost full time. Put this into perspective. 9/11 saw well over a 1000 killed, multiple buildings destroyed, and an attack made on the Pentagon. In response, a lot of French shrugged their shoulders. Now? Why the difference?

The US knows full well that if a magazine like Charlie Hebdo was launched there, it would have a very short life span before being closed down for hate speech.

It would probably meet the same fate in the UK, Israel and a host of European countries whose leaders marched in Paris on Sunday.

Freedom of expression means different things in different countries and the French are, by far, the most tolerant. I think David Cameron, who echoed the call for free speech, would be horrified if such a magazine appeared in the UK and the police would swing into action. He has enough trouble with Private Eye.

Sorry, you haven't got a clue about the US and what is allowed to be published there. Or for that matter, what is allowed to be broadcast. Unlike France, where you can be sued and put in jail for defamation of a religion.

Yes, all the world must stop and pay attention to the words of Rowling. After all, she writes children's books.

The best way to prevent it is not to do the things that provoke it.

Lets ban Christmas while we are at it.

Charb said : If we stop guarding the frontiers of republic, we can just all leave the place and give them our country

Je suis Charlie

And what the heck does that mean? The people that got him were from within. I don't think that the Collected Thoughts and Wisdom of Chairman Charbs are going to be of much use in these circumstances. Unless, of course, he was talking about some "airy-fairy frontier of the soul or mind." And even then it's about as useful as tits on a bull.

If journalists are serious about defending freedom of expression they should assert that freedom by publishing Charlie Hebdo cartoons, each and every newspaper should do this. Talk is cheap and to give up the right to offend and be offended only encourages the militants to make even more demands. The law abiding Muslims mentioned in the OP could exercise their democratic right to peaceful protest if they chose to.

I think that if you have the right to offend me, and do this ongoing, then I should also have the right to get your azs wiped.

Let me get this clear. You're offereing to wipe people's "azsezs"?

Leaving the Muslims to it in their own land is not a workable solution. First of all, we don't live in that kind of a world. We don't live where isolation works well. It's a fast moving world with airplanes and the internet.

From a demographic point of view, the Muslim lands are usually rocky, arid, relatively unproductive regions that cannot feed themselves in light of the massive population growth they experience. Even huge numbers leaving and emigrating elsewhere along with some of the most deadly wars (Iran-Iraq war, for example) do not dent this huge growth.

In many of the countries now experiencing tension, and I do mean tension, because not all of them are a major conflict area, the population growth is very unequal between Muslims and other religions.

Some of the root problems have to be addressed. Either an understanding of how to live together or a harsher approach. Neither side feels particularly inclined to leave each other alone. We aren't set to leave the ME alone (support for Israel by the US and support for Palestine by countries from the EU) and they aren't inclined to leave us alone as we are infidels.

I think until there is a large reduction of human numbers, we are in for a protracted problem.

But, as you say, here, the Muslims are creating their own problem with overpopulation. The rest of the world cannot be made responsible for their spoilage of their own land. Remember, much of the Middle East used to be known as the Fertile Crescent. Why isn't that the case anymore? Because its inhabitants have turned it into a desert. I don't want them doing the same thing to my country.

12 people murdered by radical muslims. Whatever race or religion they were. It is another hate filled attack by muslims against the West. No other way of dressing it up.

No need too....It is as you say murder.

Same as the collateral thousands killed on a regular basis elsewhere in the countries pounded by drones etc.

They obviously feel no need to dress it up. They just know they lost family & it probably feels like

some form of hate to them too.

And with this post, we get the outright justification for Islamic terror attacks. Just knew the apologists would eventually work up to that point.

Could you guys stop making this about religion. Muslims communities have condemned the attack

Correction: SOME Muslims communities have condemned the attack. It is far from universal.

And, often (if not most) of the time, they tie their condemnation to a statement claiming that they are the true victims. This goes on all the time with them. Very, very few come out and make unequivocal condemnations.