Maine governor signs trade deal with Cuba, calls for better relations

Sunday, Dec 11, 2005

Maine governor signs trade deal with Cuba, calls for better relations

HAVANA (AP) - Maine Governor John Baldacci signed a trade agreement with authorities in Havana on Sunday, and said the normalization of relations with communist Cuba must come "one step at a time."
Baldacci, the sixth sitting U.S. governor to visit Cuba since the United States imposed trade sanctions four decades ago, said he wanted Maine to be a leader in expanding U.S. trade with the island.

"We're working within the existing framework, trying to show other states the ability to trade with Cuba," Baldacci told a news conference. "We hope to demonstrate how important this is."

In 2001, Maine became the first U.S. state to pass a resolution urging an end to the decades-old U.S. trade and travel sanctions against the Caribbean nation.
(snip/...)

http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=world_home&articleID=2115462

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The article overlooks the fact that Texas, as soon as _{George W. Bush} was out of the state, passed a resolution in the state Congress to lift the travel and trade and telecommunications restrictions from Cuba.

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 54

Whereas, The relationship between the United States and Cuba has long been marked by tension and confrontation; further heightening this hostility is the 40-year-old United States trade embargo against the island nation that remains the longest-standing embargo in modern history; and

Whereas, Cuba imports nearly a billion dollars' worth of food every year, including approximately 1,100,000 tons of wheat, 420,000 tons of rice, 37,000 tons of poultry, and 60,000 tons of dairy products; these amounts are expected to grow significantly in coming years as Cuba slowly recovers from the severe economic recession it has endured following the withdrawal of subsidies from the former Soviet Union in the last decade; and

Whereas, Agriculture is the second-largest industry in Texas, and this state ranks among the top five states in overall value of agricultural exports at more than $3 billion annually; thus, Texas is ideally positioned to benefit from the market opportunities that free trade with Cuba would provide; rather than depriving Cuba of agricultural products, the United States embargo succeeds only in driving sales to competitors in other countries that have no such restrictions; and

Whereas, In recent years, Cuba has developed important pharmaceutical products, namely, a new meningitis B vaccine that has virtually eliminated the disease in Cuba; such products have the potential to protect Americans against diseases that continue to threaten large populations around the world; and

Whereas, Cuba's potential oil reserves have attracted the interest of numerous other countries who have been helping Cuba develop its existing wells and search for new reserves; Cuba's oil output has increased more than 400 percent over the last decade; and

Whereas, The United States' trade, financial, and travel restrictions against Cuba hinder Texas' export of agricultural and food products, its ability to import critical energy products, the treatment of illnesses experienced by Texans, and the right of Texans to travel freely; now, therefore, be it

Resolved,

http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2001/cr072601.htm
Thursday, July 26, 2001

Actually I thaink they might have done that.

Citizen's Energy did the same in MA, too.

Bunch of commies up here :P

this summer. Please don't tell me that:(

Life is good up here.

Good luck with your move. :)

I thought the :P would give it away as sarcasm ;)

WITHOUT the smilie clue, for sure.

Just found this interesting photo in google images, looking for a good "commie" illustration to post. This is truly creepy:

It's a compliment!

Baldacci In Havana To Promote Maine Goods

POSTED: 5:14 am EST December 12, 2005
UPDATED: 6:35 am EST December 12, 2005

AUGUSTA, Maine -- Gov. John Baldacci spends his second day in Cuba Monday, helping to promote Maine-produced goods with representatives of agricultural, lumber and biotech industries.

Cuban officials organized a number of meetings and appearances for the governor Sunday and Monday.

Baldacci's visit is the culmination of agreements for the sale of $10 million worth of Maine-grown goods such as seed potatoes, lumber and fish products to Cuba. Final agreements on the cash deals are to be signed during the governor's visit.

Much of the spade work for the trade deals was done a year ago when former state Agriculture Commissioner Robert Spear traveled to Cuba. Spear and Pedro Alvarez Borrego, head of the Cuban import agency Alimport, signed an agreement on the transactions at that time.
(snip/...)

http://www.wmtw.com/news/5515292/detail.html

From the heart of Cuba, a love song for the Crescent City


Jazz currents swirl through the music of New Orleans and Havana

By David Cázares
Havana Bureau
Posted December 11 2005


HAVANA· -- The troubling images of New Orleans left in chaos and pain by Katrina astounded people around the world, but it broke hearts here. Centuries of commerce, migration, history and music bind these two cities, and musicians at this year's international jazz festival gave props to the Crescent City in their common language.

Two of Cuba's most prolific composers and internationally acclaimed bandleaders composed musical tributes to New Orleans and its people. Flautist Jose Luis Cortés of NG La Banda and jazz pianist Chucho Valdés want musicians and residents of New Orleans to know Cubans are with them as they rebuild.

Cortés, a black Cuban whose music blends a streetwise sensibility with jazzy sophistication, was particularly saddened that so many black people in New Orleans were among those most affected. "In New Orleans, there are black people," Cortés said. "In Cuba there are black people. Blacks came from Africa. We're all from the same place."

Cortés also wanted to reach out to his fellow musicians in New Orleans, who share his love of a treasured art form. "New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz," he said. "I want to look for the currents of jazz that are within the music of New Orleans as much as they are in the music of Cuba."
(snip/...)

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/caribbean/sfl-onojazz11.1dec11,0,56633.story?coll=sfla-news-caribbean




Jose Luis Cortés, and Chucho Valdés (the tall man).

this?

The Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 still bans foreign companies from selling products to Cuba AND the US at he same time, but certain US grown AG and US made meds can be purchased by Cuba in cash only. It bans products made or grown in Cuba from being sold in the USA. (Plus, congress passed an exemption on Cuban cigars for themselves, but we the people cannot possess Cuban cigars.)

exceptions as they were lifted right after Hurricane Michelle:

Sunday, 16 December, 2001, 21:06 GMT
US food arrives in Cuba



A freighter carrying the first commercial shipment of food from the United States to Cuba in nearly 40 years has docked in the port of Havana.
The Florida-based MV Express, carrying 500 tonnes of frozen chicken, arrived with little fanfare.

It was followed by another ship - the Mexican-flagged Ikan Mazatlan, carrying 24,000 tonnes of US corn - which had been expected to dock first.

The US - which imposed a trade embargo on Cuba in 1962 - authorised the commercial shipment in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Michelle to the Caribbean island last month.
(snip/...)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1714776.stm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm certain if _Bush had been pResident that year this would never have been allowed, what about you?

One or two ships from one company made plans to take the first shipments to Cuba, and they were wildly protested and threatened in South Florida.

Maine governor latest to sign Cuba trade deal
Sun Dec 11, 2005 10:19 PM ET

By Marc Frank

HAVANA (Reuters) - Maine Gov. John Baldacci, the third U.S. governor to travel to Cuba this year in search of trade, won a deal on Sunday to sell $20 million in farm goods to the country's state-run food import agency.

"We appreciate our trade with Cuba. It is good for our farmers and good for our state," Baldacci said, after signing a series of documents with Cuba's Alimport.

The governor of Nebraska visited Cuba in November and the governor of Louisiana in March, each walking away with similar agreements and meeting with President Fidel Castro.

Baldacci, a Democrat, is in Cuba with a delegation of businessmen, farmers and state officials. He arrived on Sunday and was expected to see Castro before departing on Monday, while other delegates may stay longer to negotiate contracts.
(snip/...)

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2005-12-12T031933Z_01_MAR211923_RTRUKOC_0_US-CUBA-USA.xml&archived=False

The governor of Maine, on his first trip to Havana, said the normalization of relations with communist Cuba must come "one step at a time" after signing a trade agreement Sunday with island authorities.

John Baldacci, the sixth U.S. governor to travel to Cuba, said he wanted Maine to be a leader in the process of further opening trade with the island.

"We're working within the existing framework, trying to show other states the ability to trade with Cuba, and gain from Maine leadership," Baldacci told a news conference. "We hope to demonstrate how important this is."

Maine was the first state to publicly declare by legislative resolution in 2001 its support for bilateral trade with Cuba and urge an end to the decades-old U.S. embargo.


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ME_CUBA_BALDACCI_MEOL-?SITE=VARIT&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-12-11-19-46-30

Enough's enough.

at least it's a start politically. Left....

...Seduced into treason by cheap fuel oil from Castro pal Hugo Chavez. George will not like this. He may invade Maine.