OK let's forget Mel & talk about Cuba......

LauraMax

LauraMax

Cathlete
Which I think is just a bit more relevant to our lives than Mel's issues.

I just find this all so fascinating. Castro has been there for I guess around 50 years now & if he doesn't survive or isn't able to continue it could really change our lives. Think of the beautiful resorts & casinos we've been missing out on!

I saw a congresswoman from Florida on the news this morning who had immigrated from Cuba with her parents. The interviewer asked her if they were expecting a flood of refugees from Cuba, & she said they would most definitely be restricting immigration. Very strange position for someone who did this herself.

So, should the US be involved in a change of regime, if one does occur? I mean, we stick our noses into places all over the world to promote democracy, seems to me that it would be much more appropriate in Cuba than in many other places we've butted in. They're our neighbors, the people who live there for the most part live in poverty & their lives would drastically improve if they could import/export with the US. Do we have a responsibility to help them?

I'm not talking about occupation, but maybe some propoganda? I suppose better minds than mine would have to figure it out. What do you guys think?
 
I think the US is probably ready to take some immediate action as soon as Fidel passes, which may still be a long time according to the news this morning. From what I hear our govt is eager to show them how our democracy works.
 
The US has put in place a law of soughts which specifically states that there will be no talks of releasing the embargo as long as Cuba is run by any Castro. We knew that his brother Raul was listed as second in command if anything happened to Fidel.

Secondly for all those Americans afraid of Cubans coming here and of so many in Miami going back to Cuba to live. This is not as bad as you make it out. The older Cubans living in Miami and other parts have their lives here with their children and grandchildren. They are not about to leave here to reclaim there properties in Cuba or live full time over there.

However there will be some Cubans here who will profit and go back to Cuba to reclaim properties and start businesses and bring people over for money. There have always been those who profit from such things all over the world.

And yes lastly there will always be people in Cuba and other countries who think the grass is greener here in America. Mostly because the Americans who visit over there fill their heads with stories of riches. When in fact you have to work for a living here in the US.

I doubt very much anything will happen any time soon. Right now when you travel to Cuba your American passport means nothing. You travel at your own risk. Also if you are an American and travel over there you are only allowed one visit per year. You also have to use only American dollars of a certain amount and are not allowed to use any American credit cards. In other words it very expensive for Americans to travel there. And Fidel is making the most of exploiting our visits over there. Since he knows we go to see our families and will continue to do so.

Going to Cuba now is like going back in time to the 50's. The architecture of some of the famous landmarks in Havana have deteriorated. The cars that some people have are very old. Getting gas is extremely expensive. Some stores only take American dollars and some only take Cuban money. Some stores and Hotels prohibit Cubans who live there to go inside. Others only allow them if they are accompanied by their American family traveling their. Who they know will spend their American dollars in the establishment. However the American Embassy there still sees crowds of Cubans who line up for days and nights to have an interview and give them some kind of payoff to get out of the country. And their names are taken for record by the Communist regime and their remaining families who didn't line up to leave the country are not treated well.

We can still hope this ends well for both sides.
 
>The US has put in place a law of soughts which specifically
>states that there will be no talks of releasing the embargo as
>long as Cuba is run by any Castro. We knew that his brother
>Raul was listed as second in command if anything happened to
>Fidel.
>
>Secondly for all those Americans afraid of Cubans coming here
>and of so many in Miami going back to Cuba to live. This is
>not as bad as you make it out. The older Cubans living in
>Miami and other parts have their lives here with their
>children and grandchildren. They are not about to leave here
>to reclaim there properties in Cuba or live full time over
>there.
>
>However there will be some Cubans here who will profit and go
>back to Cuba to reclaim properties and start businesses and
>bring people over for money. There have always been those who
>profit from such things all over the world.
>
>And yes lastly there will always be people in Cuba and other
>countries who think the grass is greener here in America.
>Mostly because the Americans who visit over there fill their
>heads with stories of riches. When in fact you have to work
>for a living here in the US.
>
>I doubt very much anything will happen any time soon. Right
>now when you travel to Cuba your American passport means
>nothing. You travel at your own risk. Also if you are an
>American and travel over there you are only allowed one visit
>per year. You also have to use only American dollars of a
>certain amount and are not allowed to use any American credit
>cards. In other words it very expensive for Americans to
>travel there. And Fidel is making the most of exploiting our
>visits over there. Since he knows we go to see our families
>and will continue to do so.
>
>Going to Cuba now is like going back in time to the 50's. The
>architecture of some of the famous landmarks in Havana have
>deteriorated. The cars that some people have are very old.
>Getting gas is extremely expensive. Some stores only take
>American dollars and some only take Cuban money. Some stores
>and Hotels prohibit Cubans who live there to go inside.
>Others only allow them if they are accompanied by their
>American family traveling their. Who they know will spend
>their American dollars in the establishment. However the
>American Embassy there still sees crowds of Cubans who line up
>for days and nights to have an interview and give them some
>kind of payoff to get out of the country. And their names are
>taken for record by the Communist regime and their remaining
>families who didn't line up to leave the country are not
>treated well.
>
>We can still hope this ends well for both sides.

Sundari,

Interesting. Are you Cuban? I don't know much about Cuba. I did read that Chavez (Venezuela) has been cozying up to Castro for a while, wonder if he will try to get the upper hand in this current situation.

Sparrow

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow - what a ride!’ — Peter Sage
 
"As if it's going to help, Castro has already announced that his brother is going to succeed him."

But isn't his brother 75 years old? I wonder how long his health will hold out for a position like that?


Suz

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." - Anatole France

http://www.picturetrail.com/dogs2birds
 
>
>And yes lastly there will always be people in Cuba and other
>countries who think the grass is greener here in America.
>Mostly because the Americans who visit over there fill their
>heads with stories of riches. When in fact you have to work
>for a living here in the US.
>
>

Um hello? The grass IS greener here in America by the way. My parents came from Cuba and we still have relatives in Cuba who hardly have food on the table and bare necessities. And most Cubans are happy to work hard for a living if they can make a decent living from it and not have to starve.
 
Well, I think that's what's part of the issue here & what's so politically interesting. Pundits claim the reason Castro lasted as long as he did was b/c of his charisma, which his brother is evidently lacking.

So they're predicting that if Castro does die there may be some kind of civil war to oust his brother & bring some form of democracy to Cuba.

Personally I'm not worried about an influx or outflux of Cubans--the grass really is greener here & I think it sure would be nice if we had a world without borders (yeah I know, I'm a dreamer) & that anyone who wanted to work toward a better life should be entitled.

But after 50 years, & all the fascinating politics that have gone along with Castro (anyone hear about Operation Mongoose? Exploding cigars? Sometimes you just gotta laugh at the CIA), it'll be really interesting to see how this all comes out.
 
I will explain what I meant by the Americans who visist Cuba and fill Cubans minds of how the grass is greener over here what meant.

This got taken out of context and was very misunderstood by some people here.

What I meant was: When American families visit their relatives in Cuba they should be honest in telling them how things are in the US. For example: Americans do work hard for what they have. We do not have things given to us for free. Life is not always easy here in the US. We do have to work for a living. And some people can't make ends meet and they work at minimum wage.

That was all I meant. I didn't mean that it is not better in the US. Of course it is better to live in the US than in any communist country. I thought that point was understood.

Thank you to all who commented constructively and understood. And for those that didn't I hope this helped.
 
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