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jambo
3300 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Aug 2006 : 15:01:33
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President Fidel Castro 80 years young on sunday,  such a thorn in the usa side
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Newfy
Western Samoa
462 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2006 : 21:01:51
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| Happy Birthday Fidel.... hopefully no bananna republic will enter Kuba ever...again |
The law an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
Mohandas Gandhi |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2006 : 21:20:53
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quote:
Originally posted by Newfy
Happy Birthday Fidel.... hopefully no bananna republic will enter Kuba ever...again
What is a Banana Republic |
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Newfy
Western Samoa
462 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2006 : 23:03:18
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Kondorong
Heres what I remember...A banana republic is a country, often in Latin America that is run by a corrupt group of elite people. Its not the company that sells clothing... somehow could not take to their name very well
This was the case of Cuba because before Fidel, they were a banana republic largely owned by companies external from the country. There are many lessons for the Gambia as well.
For your extra reading pleasure and today is Aloha Friday.. I get to kick off my shoes...
Wikipedia
banana republic
Modern usage
In modern usage the term has come to be used to describe a generally unstable or "backward" dictatorial regime, especially one where elections are often fraudulent and corruption is rife.
The foreign influence may be political or economic, but the point is that a banana republic is controlled or heavily influenced by foreign corporations, either directly or through their government.
By extension, the word is occasionally applied to governments where a strong leader hands out appointments, advantages, etc. to friends and supporters, without much consideration for the law.
Background
It was in Honduras that the United Fruit and Standard Fruit companies dominated the country's key banana export sector and support sectors such as railways. The United Fruit Company was nicknamed 'The Octopus', for its willingness to involve itself in politics, sometimes violently. In 1910 Sam Zemurray, who 22 years later would take over United Fruit in a hostile bid, hired a gang of armed toughs from New Orleans to help stage a coup in Honduras in order to obtain beneficial treatment from the new government for his own banana-trading company, Cuyamel Fruit. Four decades later, the directors of United Fruit played a role in convincing the Truman and Eisenhower administrations that the government of Colonel Arbenz in Guatemala was secretly pro-Soviet, thus contributing to the CIA's decision to assist in overthrowing Arbenz's government in 1954 (see Operation PBSUCCESS).
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2006 : 11:17:32
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| newfy, i give you 85% mark for this essay, well done. |
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Newfy
Western Samoa
462 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2006 : 22:38:21
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Thanks Jambo, but Wikipeadia deserves the thanks because I cut and pasted items from their website which I think I acknowledged. but nevertheless, my point is that I dont want to see Cuba turn into a banana republic which has happened quite alot over and over in the world with U.S. intervention...
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The law an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
Mohandas Gandhi |
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Newfy
Western Samoa
462 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2006 : 22:40:36
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| I remember also wasn't it Cuba that helped the Namibians win their independence, Jambo? |
The law an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
Mohandas Gandhi |
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2006 : 22:43:26
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Belated birthday greetings Castro. I wish you many more birthdays to come
Peace
Sister Omega |
Peace
Sister Omega |
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