Let's go to Havana!
 

http://www.opencuba.org/

The travel industry is trying to get Obama to open the door to Cuba and end the 50 year old travel ban.

I am all for this...

Meet me in Havana for Mojitos on the Malecón

Hell no. Not until the locals are allowed to do the same things as tourists.

Kuan's right, but I still look forward to the day when there is a Major League Baseball team in Havana.

The embargo has not worked in 50 years. Maybe we need to do something else like encourage investment and travel down there. Give the Cubans McDonalds, Disney, Chevy, and dollars and they will forget the revolution pretty quickly.

I agree that the Castro brothers have to go, but NOTHING we have done has done anything but strengthen their grip on Cuba.

OK, I said Kuan was right, but you're also right. I guess I'm flip flopping here.

It hasn't worked that way in China.

It's really, really unfortunate that McDonalds, Disney, and Chevy are what have come to symbolize the US and are the things we have to offer the world. :(

Do you "YAHOO" ? :)

Well, they nationalize healthcare, banks and car companies too, doesn't that count?

I went to cuba as part of "government research team":Da decade ago..my wife works for the Govt.as do some friends of hers,easy enough if you word the visa right.
Had to go thru Honduras.
Now,for any old car buffs,the plain truth is many of the vintage cars being driven are essentially the shells of cars with sometimes Russian and european drivetrains,occasionally just different trannies,rear ends,n*gg*r rigged suspension units,Et,AL.
Saw a nice "20 foot" '39 Packard but the motor was a 6 cyl Bedford truck flathead.
Did manage to snag some really rare trumpets and saxes for cheap and found a fellow sails to Miami and back who would smuggle the stuff out of Havana and mail them to me from a Miami post office,for U.S dollars nonetheless,they're king down there!that's how Rum and Cigars get to these shores.
Going back in 3 months.

We actually have an office in Havana to process visas. I have been trying for a year to wrangle a way down there. The list of techs that want to go there to 'fix issues' is 10 pages long... Obviously there is a pent up demand for us to visit Cuba. I think we could really engage the people there and maybe bring about a 'velvet revolution' like they had in Czechoslovakia by going there in droves, spending $$ investing in their country, and by showing the people we are not United Fruit by treating them with respect (while drinking mojitos and seeing the cabaret shows -- hey we are NOT all saints right?)

We should have swept down there as soon as the USSR fell apart and stopped sponsoring them.

There's nothing that will corrupt communism like money and free enterprise!

Do you think the Chinese government has been weakened?

We cannot confuse the Chinese with Communism. They TALK Communism but act like robber baron Capitalists of the kind that had Marx and Engels in a twist. Low wages, harsh conditions, no vacations... sounds like a Worker's paradise to me...

What China has become is a one party POLICE STATE

I don't think for all their faults the Cubans are anywhere as restrictive or as brutal as the Chinese. I don't think the Cuban people would put up with what the Chinese do.

I also think that ignoring the island is not getting us anywhere. Heck we deal with VIETNAM and they beat us in a war!

I would love to see a Free Cuba (no Castros and no Batistas either) a government run along the lines of what their Constitution actually says.

Cutting through the red tape, an easier way
 

I have read for years that all you need to do is to fly to Toronto or Cancun Mexico, and contact a travel agency there that will buy you RT tickets to Havana and back.


There is an unwritten, informal, agreement that the Cuban Aduanas (customs) officials will agree to *NOT* stamp your US passport either "entrada" or "salida" so upon return to the USA ultimately, nobody will EVER know, in US customs, that you wen to Cuba and had a nice time.

Through the internet, it is easy to arrange lodgings in Havana, anywhere you wish.


I thought about going there, with my wife about 8 years ago, and looked into all of it pretty thoroughly.

Finally settled on a cruise that hit San Juan, PR, instead.:)

Also, if you are in one of the accepted and legally "exempted" professions, like accredited teachers or journalists or others, you can legally go directly there to Cuba from the USA.


What Carleton Hughes said about the cars is mostly true, but not always. Gifts like small parts such as spark plugs and filters for the old cars are much adored in Cuba....

So it was before we opened our economy to them.

If human rights are a concern, the time to negotiate for better conditions is before you give these totalitarian states what they're after.

I just want some cigars fresh from the roller's fingers.

I didn't sasy the government. I said communism. Also, I thing the Chinese seem to have a much more conservative, cautious approach to capitalism. Whereas the Soviets basically threw up their hands and said, "Okay, this isn't working so noow we'll become capitalists and try to look like a democracy." the Chinese seem to be building their industry and economy more carefully and thoughtfully.

That is my underinformed opinion.

See ya there, Swamp!

Okay, maybe a little rum, too?! :D

Sorry... I don't understand????

America is also the undisputed world leader in internet and electronic commmunication technology, and famous for computers, and wireless innovation.

My BIL is having a gallery showing this weekend in NJ, featuring works from his trips to Cuba and South FL . . . interesting contrasts in the communities.

BUICKS, not BOMBS ???:D

He is really good
 

Is there a way to see all of it on here? The teaser pic's look tantalizing, fascinating.

Pontiacs. They can go live with all the other dead brand cars that already exist in Cuba. ;)

Click on the "galleries" and there are navigation links.

Mojitos, fresh Cuban cigars......Do they have golf courses?:D

Huh? What does that mean?

This is what's wrong with the American mentality. What right do any people have to Dictate to others how they should live their lives and whom their representatives should be? And how ironic, given this remark made yesterday:

“The fourth issue that I will address is democracy. I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other”.

“This last point is important because there are some who advocate for democracy only when they are out of power; once in power, they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others. No matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power: you must maintain your power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party. Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy”.

President Barack Obama, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt, Africa, June 4, 2009,

I would replace "your people" with "all people."

I'm going when I can.....everyone your home work for the weekend is to see the movie "Havana" with Robert Redford, Raul Julia and Lena Hill(?). Great movie. BenzLGB donde estan?

Where I come from in the rural midwest we might say "Farmer rigged"....it means fixing things with anything that will work but does not include actually using the correct factory part.

My dad was excellent at it. I will do it occasionally if a part is needed immediately and not available. What I like about having a 123 mb is that about any part I might need I have on hand....some new and some used.

In my family we generally did not use racially related slang.

Farmer Rigging can be truly impressive. I love looking at old farm equipment and wonder if I could come up with the same solution to a problem. Everyone has seen Car Dealer rigging at some time or another:D

The Best Vacation Spot on the Planet
 

That's what Cuba was back in the day and it can be again. I just never understood our government attitude. We are doing a booming business with every enemy we ever fought, Germany (lucky us), Japan, China, even North Vietnam. Why in Hell are we still embargoing Cuba? The only shot was ever fired came from CIA.

I don't like the Castro Boys either but I'm not crazy about whoever is running China and everything (except my cars) that I own comes from there. Let's check it out and start smoking those good cigars again.

^^^ Exactly!

As for cigars, I want mine straight from the roller's virginal thighs...

I can see a great business importing Detroit iron back to the states... I heard somebody in Canada was doing that already. The GM's are pretty well bastardized, but the Chyslers are not due to the fact that Chrysler sold most of their tools and dies to the USSR when they were finished with them. The Russians made DeSoto Hemi's until the 1990's!

And you get tortured and executed if you are dissident. Russia nationalized everything and the collapsed. Got any more brilliants ideas?