"Glenn Ashmore" writes:

I hate to get into a political discussion on a news group that almost
uniquely has remained free of them, especially when I don't like either
of the candidates but something is going terribly askew here.

According to a letter to the Senate Finance Committee from the head of
the Office of Foreign Assets Control, which is supposed to be tracking
terrorist funds, they have been allocated only enough funds for 4 people
to track Al Quida finances and more than two dozen tracking Cuban
travel. Somebody needs to get their priorities in order.

In more ways than one.

Must admit I'm somewhat of a news/politics junkie.

Find it more entertaining than those idiotic sitcoms on TV.

What I find most interesting is the number of groups that have been formed
not to get a particular person elected, but to try to insure that Bush does
not get reelected.

Strange things happen sometimes.

Lew

In article , To wrote:
On Mon, 10 May 2004 02:16:41 GMT, (Paul Revere) wrote:

In article s.com, "O:P\)"
wrote:
So what do you care so much about Cuba? Go to the Bahamas or any other
Island there



Yes, just do as your told and no one will get hurt.

Welcome to the land of the free.

I'm sure you could find a place to live more "free" and you will
not have to complain.

Hey, how about "free" Cuba?

You know what, Wally, I don't care that much about how "free" people are in
Cuba; I don't live there.

I live in the US and what I do care about, Wally, is how free people are HERE.

If you want to live in a country where people don't complain, at least not out
loud, I'm sure you can find a place to live that will suit you better than the
US.

Hey, how about complaint "free" Cuba.

In article , Dick Locke wrote:
On Sun, 09 May 2004 13:37:39 GMT, "Gabriel Latrémouille"
wrote:

Just read the new US Decree forbidding sailing to Cuba in Cruising World
Magazine.

I am speechless, astounded, stunted, amazed, ****ed-off... the arrogance,
the gall, the pretensions, the abuse of American citizens rights, the abuse
of foreign sailors, the hidden agenda, ! ! ! ! !



BUSHWHACKED!!!!!!

GL

Can you post a reference to or a summary of the article? Can't find it
on Cruisingworld.com...


http://www.cruisingworld.com/article...ID=419&catID=0

In article , "Doug Dotson" wrote:
{Reality: Every week that goes by I feel like I am sinking ever deeper
into a bad dream. I hope everyone wakes up in time to VOTE in November
and restore the chance for freedom here in the US}

Vote for who? Kerry? I suppose he was for freedom before he was against it.
Or was it the other way around? Which way is the wind blowing?

Doug
s/v Callista




Bush the flip flopper

1. Department of Homeland Security

BUSH OPPOSES THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY...
"So, creating a Cabinet office doesn't solve the problem. You still
will have agencies within the federal government that have to be
coordinated. So the answer is that creating a Cabinet post doesn't
solve anything." [White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, 3/19/02]

...BUSH SUPPORTS THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
"So tonight, I ask the Congress to join me in creating a single,
permanent department with an overriding and urgent mission: securing
the homeland of America and protecting the American people."
[President Bush, Address to the Nation, 6/6/02]

2. Weapons of Mass Destruction

BUSH SAYS WE FOUND THE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION...
"We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological
laboratories for those who say we haven't found the banned
manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found
them." [President Bush, Interview in Poland, 5/29/03]

BUSH SAYS WE HAVEN'T FOUND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
"David Kay has found the capacity to produce weapons. And when David
Kay goes in and says we haven't found stockpiles yet, and there's
theories as to where the weapons went. They could have been
destroyed during the war. Saddam and his henchmen could have
destroyed them as we entered into Iraq. They could be hidden. They
could have been transported to another country, and we'll find out."
[President Bush, Meet the Press, 2/7/04]

3. Free Trade

BUSH SUPPORTS FREE TRADE...
"I believe strongly that if we promote trade, and when we promote
trade, it will help workers on both sides of this issue." [President
Bush in Peru, 3/23/02]

...BUSH SUPPORTS RESTRICTIONS ON TRADE
"In a decision largely driven by his political advisers, President
Bush set aside his free-trade principles last year and imposed heavy
tariffs on imported steel to help out struggling mills in
Pennsylvania and West Virginia, two states crucial for his
reelection." [Washington Post, 9/19/03]

4. Osama Bin Laden

BUSH WANTS OSAMA DEAD OR ALIVE...
"I want justice. And there's an old poster out West, I recall, that
says, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive.'" [President Bush, on Osama Bin Laden,
09/17/01]

BUSH DOESN'T CARE ABOUT OSAMA "I don't know where he is. I have no
idea and I really don't care. It's not that important." [President
Bush, Press Conference, 3/13/02]

5. The Environment

BUSH SUPPORTS MANDATORY CAPS ON CARBON DIOXIDE...
"[If elected], Governor Bush will work to establish mandatory
reduction targets for emissions of four main pollutants: sulfur
dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and carbon dioxide." [Bush
Environmental Plan, 9/29/00]

BUSH OPPOSES MANDATORY CAPS ON CARBON DIOXIDE
"I do not believe, however, that the government should impose on
power plants mandatory emissions reductions for carbon dioxide,
which is not a 'pollutant' under the Clean Air Act." [President
Bush, Letter to Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), 3/13/03]

6. WMD Commission

BUSH RESISTS AN OUTSIDE INVESTIGATION ON WMD INTELLIGENCE FAILURE...
"The White House immediately turned aside the calls from Kay and
many Democrats for an immediate outside investigation, seeking to
head off any new wide-ranging election-year inquiry that might go
beyond reports already being assembled by congressional committees
and the Central Intelligence Agency." [NY Times, 1/29/04]

...BUSH SUPPORTS AN OUTSIDE INVESTIGATION ON WMD INTELLIGENCE FAILURE
"Today, by executive order, I am creating an independent commission,
chaired by Governor and former Senator Chuck Robb, Judge Laurence
Silberman, to look at American intelligence capabilities, especially
our intelligence about weapons of mass destruction." [President
Bush, 2/6/04]

7. Creation of the 9/11 Commission

BUSH OPPOSES CREATION OF INDEPENDENT 9/11 COMMISSION...
"President Bush took a few minutes during his trip to Europe
Thursday to voice his opposition to establishing a special
commission to probe how the government dealt with terror warnings
before Sept. 11." [CBS News, 5/23/02]

...BUSH SUPPORTS CREATION OF INDEPENDENT 9/11 COMMISSION
"President Bush said today he now supports establishing an
independent commission to investigate the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks." [ABC News, 09/20/02]

8. Time Extension for 9/11 Commission

BUSH OPPOSES TIME EXTENSION FOR 9/11 COMMISSION...
"President Bush and House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) have
decided to oppose granting more time to an independent commission
investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks." [Washington Post,
1/19/04]

...BUSH SUPPORTS TIME EXTENSION FOR 9/11 COMMISSION
"The White House announced Wednesday its support for a request from
the commission investigating the September 11, 2001 attacks for more
time to complete its work." [CNN, 2/4/04]

9. One Hour Limit for 9/11 Commission Testimony


BUSH LIMITS TESTIMONY IN FRONT OF 9/11 COMMISSION TO ONE HOUR...
"President Bush and Vice President **** Cheney have placed strict
limits on the private interviews they will grant to the federal
commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, saying that they will
meet only with the panel's top two officials and that Mr. Bush will
submit to only a single hour of questioning, commission members
said." [NY Times, 2/26/04]

...BUSH SETS NO TIMELIMIT FOR TESTIMONY
"The president's going to answer all of the questions they want to
raise. Nobody's watching the clock." [White House spokesman Scott
McClellan, 3/10/04]

10. Gay Marriage

BUSH SAYS GAY MARRIAGE IS A STATE ISSUE...
"The state can do what they want to do. Don't try to trap me in this
state's issue like you're trying to get me into." [Gov. George W.
Bush on Gay Marriage, Larry King Live, 2/15/00]

...BUSH SUPPORTS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT BANNING GAY MARRIAGE
"Today I call upon the Congress to promptly pass, and to send to the
states for ratification, an amendment to our Constitution defining
and protecting marriage as a union of man and woman as husband and
wife." [President Bush, 2/24/04]

11. Nation Building

BUSH OPPOSES NATION BUILDING... "If we don't stop extending our
troops all around the world in nation-building missions, then we're
going to have a serious problem coming down the road." [Gov. George
W. Bush, 10/3/00]

...BUSH SUPPORTS NATION BUILDING
"We will be changing the regime of Iraq, for the good of the Iraqi
people." [President Bush, 3/6/03]

12. Saddam/al Qaeda Link

BUSH SAYS IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEEN AL QAEDA AND
SADDAM...
"You can't distinguish between al Qaeda and Saddam when you talk
about the war on terror." [President Bush, 9/25/02]

...BUSH SAYS SADDAM HAD NO ROLE IN AL QAEDA PLOT
"We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved in Sept.
11." [President Bush, 9/17/03]

13. U.N. Resolution

BUSH VOWS TO HAVE A UN VOTE NO MATTER WHAT...
"No matter what the whip count is, we're calling for the vote. We
want to see people stand up and say what their opinion is about
Saddam Hussein and the utility of the United Nations Security
Council. And so, you bet. It's time for people to show their cards,
to let the world know where they stand when it comes to Saddam."
[President Bush 3/6/03]

...BUSH WITHDRAWS REQUEST FOR VOTE
"At a National Security Council meeting convened at the White House
at 8:55 a.m., Bush finalized the decision to withdraw the resolution
from consideration and prepared to deliver an address to the nation
that had already been written." [Washington Post, 3/18/03]

14. Involvement in the Palestinian Conflict

BUSH OPPOSES SUMMITS...
"Well, we've tried summits in the past, as you may remember. It
wasn't all that long ago where a summit was called and nothing
happened, and as a result we had significant intifada in the area."
[President Bush, 04/05/02]

BUSH SUPPORTS SUMMITS
"If a meeting advances progress toward two states living side by
side in peace, I will strongly consider such a meeting. I'm
committed to working toward peace in the Middle East." [President
Bush, 5/23/03]

15. Campaign Finance

BUSH OPPOSES MCCAIN-FEINGOLD...
"George W. Bush opposes McCain-Feingold...as an infringement on free
expression." [Washington Post, 3/28/2000]

BUSH SIGNS MCCAIN-FEINGOLD INTO LAW
"[T]his bill improves the current system of financing for Federal
campaigns, and therefore I have signed it into law." [President
Bush, at the McCain-Feingold singing ceremony, 03/27/02]

I could go on, but maybe you get the drift.

In article XbUnc.11881$Lm3.6056@lakeread04, wrote:
A bit exaggerated but there is a thread of truth. Actually, one of the
current main forces behind the embargo is Alfonso Fanjul, owner of
Flo-Sun Sugar. He is probably one of the most powerful figures in
Florida politics and gets about $65 million a year in government sugar
subsidies while he pours tons of nitrogen into the Florida Bay poisoning
the keys and blaming it on us boaters. Dan Burton and Jessie Helms (of
the Helms-Burton embargo act) got about 15% of their campaign funds from
the Fanjul family. In '92 Alfonso was co-chair of the Clinton Florida
campaign while his brother Pepe was treasurer for Bush I and Dole. BOTH
Fanjuls are big buddies with brother Jeb and have close access to the
White House.


Of course, Cubans living in the US CAN go to Cuba once every year with NO
spending restrictions. They just don't want anyone else to go.

Vito wrote:
Blame Mussolini (sp?)! He was so hard on the Mafia that US mobsters helped
allied intellegence during WW2. Ike got so indebted to them for this help,
and some 'personal' things they did for him that Charlie Lucky was released
and allowed to carry his $millions back to Sicily. Meanwhile Ike's yes-man
J-Edgar was proclaiming that no mob ever existed; but somehow non-existent
US criminals controlled Cuba, made big $$$ off gambling and pimping local
pretties and, more important, laundered the extortion money made in the USA.
This in turn gave them even more $$$ to spend on crooked cops and
politicians - which in turn gave them more political clout. Some thot it
utopian. I mean why bust yer ass cutting cane when your 13 year old could
turn tricks in Havana?

But then Castro kicked out the mob-owned government, and became an
international hero - until he stupidly interfered with Ike's buddies. Then
Lansky & friends called in some chips and in the midst of a US tour Castro
suddenly became a communist! I mean we *knew* he was a filthy commie because
he appropriated 'private property' - namely the mobs casinos and whore
houses - closed them down, and sent the girls home. So we slapped sanctions
on him and he became worse! He nationalized the medical business and MDs
could no longer make $million/year like in the states, so all the MDs moved
to Florida. He cracked down on crime, so all the criminals moved to Florida.
And when we really tightened the screws he got into bed with Kruchev! No
wonder Bush hates him so. How can an honest criminal make money with the
likes of Castro around?? Jeeze, it just 'taint right.

And that's why you can't go there ..... (c:

On Tue, 11 May 2004 09:03:07 GMT, (Paul Revere)
wrote:

In article , Dick Locke wrote:
On Sun, 09 May 2004 13:37:39 GMT, "Gabriel Latrémouille"
wrote:

Just read the new US Decree forbidding sailing to Cuba in Cruising World
Can you post a reference to or a summary of the article? Can't find it
on Cruisingworld.com...


http://www.cruisingworld.com/article...ID=419&catID=0

This isn't it, it's a two year old article that doesn't mention
confiscating boats.

I got the May Cruising World, it has the text of the proclamation as
well as an editorial.

The proclamation language is:

The Secretary (of HS) may make rules and regulations governing the
anchorage and movement of any vessel foreign or domestic in the
territorial waters of the United States, which may be used, or is
susceptible of being used for voyage into Cuban territorial waters and
that may create unsafe conditions, or result in unauthorized
transactions, and thereby threaten a disturbance of international
relations."



"The Secretary is authorized to inspect any vessel, foreign or
domestic, in the territorial waters of the United States, at any time;
to place guards on any such vessel; and with my consent expressly
hereby granted to take full possession and control of any such vessel
and remove the officers and crew and all other persons not
speciffically authroized to go or remain on board the vessel when
necessary to secure the rights and obligations of the United States."


"Susceptible" indeed. What boat that can sail 90 miles isn't?

A lawyer could probably tell us whether "take full possesion and
control" means the same as confiscating and terminating ownership
rights.

It's worth a letter to two Senators and a Rep.

"Lew Hodgett" said:
What I find most interesting is the number of groups that have been formed
not to get a particular person elected, but to try to insure that Bush does
not get reelected.

Dave wrote:
Those groups are simply a fairly transparent attempt by a bunch of
left-leaning billionaires to flout the campaign finance law.

Ah yes, so you think it's just peachy when right-leaning billionaires do it?

In any event, it is not "flouting the campaign finance law" at all, it
is due to the recent reforms and is quite legal.

Please do not bring any more political discussion here, this has been a
very nice newsgroup.

DSK

DSK wrote:

Please do not bring any more political discussion here, this has
been a very nice newsgroup.

There's always the possibility that this is a great place _because_ we know
how to talk politics (or fiberglass, or what have you) rather than because
we _avoid_ such. Pure speculation, mind you.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.home.comcast.net/

On Tue, 11 May 2004 01:16:28 GMT, "Jim Carter"
wrote:


"Don White" wrote in message
...
Oh oh! Now that the 'cat is out of the bag' you'd better stay away from
the US. Next thing we'll be reading about you stripped naked and led
around
on a dog leash.


Now, that's funny! I damn near fell off my chair laughing, just thinking
about it.

Well, I was watching theTravel Show on BBC last night. Some people
were quite serious about avoiding the US as holiday destination, as
there is a remote possibility of being treated real bad by the INS.
Overstayed your visa many years back, airline did not inform the INS
about your departure, maybe mistake you for someone else etc. Even
well-behaving WASP businessmen end up in jail and deported.

Been to the US many times, but now it is off my list, especially as
we have small children I want to keep away from problems. There are
plenty of other destinations, were even aliens have legal rights.



Mike









Jim

I can't say that I blame you. I love my country, but for the last dozen
years, I have been disgusted and ashamed of it's leadership. I wonder
how much worse it's going to have to get before people wake up and vote
some people into the congress and white house who actually believe in
the constitution.

Mika wrote:
On Tue, 11 May 2004 01:16:28 GMT, "Jim Carter"
wrote:


"Don White" wrote in message
...

Oh oh! Now that the 'cat is out of the bag' you'd better stay away from
the US. Next thing we'll be reading about you stripped naked and led

around

on a dog leash.


Now, that's funny! I damn near fell off my chair laughing, just thinking
about it.


Well, I was watching theTravel Show on BBC last night. Some people
were quite serious about avoiding the US as holiday destination, as
there is a remote possibility of being treated real bad by the INS.
Overstayed your visa many years back, airline did not inform the INS
about your departure, maybe mistake you for someone else etc. Even
well-behaving WASP businessmen end up in jail and deported.

Been to the US many times, but now it is off my list, especially as
we have small children I want to keep away from problems. There are
plenty of other destinations, were even aliens have legal rights.



Mike










Jim





--
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean"
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/TriciaJean.JPG