My Take on CUBA. Bunch of asholes here.
 

You need a Mother, Father or Grandparents alive in Cuba to travel there.

Before you go nuts, this is for Cuban's legally in the US of A.

No cousins, uncles, brothers or sisters...these are communist Cuba's government rules. Reseach if you wish.

Tired of the Canadians, Germans, and others telling stories on how wonderful it is. Nice cheap, clean ocean front, air conditioned hotels, great food, Great Photo ops? ( This is one of the kickers) The country has been ruined in less than 50 years. If you want to take pictures of old structures go to Rome ...shit heads.

Travel 50 miles in any direction from the resorts filled with drinks and fresh towels to find the truth. Given they may be at peace with the only life they know, but try to purchase an aspirin if you have a headache, try and get milk for hungry child,.I can go on and on..no can do folks. Medical is for the Army and the pro Castro.

I was born in Cuba, but a US citizen. The whole Cuba is a great tourist attraction shit, freaks me out. Have some balls and go to India, Turkey or deep in China then kiss and tell.

Try and get a trip to see your cousin in a hospital bed awaiting death and for a lack of partnership to a goverment turned down.

Recieve a letter 6 days later from family that he has passed.

Anyone pro Cuba (the way it is) are not smart.

once they sell all the retro cars they have they'll have enough money to turn the island into a second Hawaii

Your (Duke$) sig must be a shamed at that reply. Please give me an insight on what that has to do with my post.
Give it a shot. Marshmallows and Chris Hansen? I'll send you money for a clear response.

But they have free health care.
Don't you get it? That makes them the good guys.

And how do Cuba's poor compare to others in Latin America? Bitch all you want but there are no homeless or starving kids there.

I like the Cigars.I've heard nothing but good things about Cuba from fellow Canadians..should that mean to stay away and vacation in another country because you're tired of Canadians spending tourist dollars?

I personally have been to Cuba 5 times. Yes I went to see my wifes mom, but still. We met a LOT of americans that were there just to visit, and had no relatives.

If you want to go, just fly though the bahamas. Its easy. And Cuba WONT stamp a US passport, so you have nothing to worry about.

I have also traveled more than 50 miles from Havana, and its not quite as bad as you say. Do they have it hard, YES, and often some go hungry. But its no where near as bad as other countries.

I lived in Miami for a while and ever Cuban I met (I think it i about 60%) hated Castro.

If I recall, they nationalised the land of your family, right ????

Mere starvation is pretty comforting?

:Oh crap

You do have a point but don't forget without any tourism Cuba would have
been off far worse than it is now.....on the other hand without castro opening
Cube for tourism in the late eighties he wouldn't have made it so long as Cuba's
leader...... :2 cents:

And don't compare non US tourists with US tourists.....it's like comparing apples to oranges

Does anyone else think it is shameful for tourists to visit a country that is run by a dictator and which brutally represses its people and holds hundreds of political prisoners?

Fuck Cuba! There is no way in hell I would visit that country like that.

Its not starvation. No where near that.

Fidel kept those people down for good reason. They think they are holier than god. Give them a little freedom and they turn into crazies who think their shit don't stink.

My ex-girlfriend won a green card to USA in the lottery that they have. Every year they draw names and let the citizens of Cuba come to USA. Her family won and she came over when she was 14.

After 4 years I couldn't take the crazy bitch anymore. I swear the family thought they were better than everyone else. Everyone else was always wrong or bad. They would also invoke GOD on everything. Being an atheist this wasn't my cup of tea.

"Thanks to god" this and "thanks to god" that...

He needs to keep holding these people down, we don't need a rush of ignorant idiots coming to America.

P.S. - I'm sure they aren't all like this, but this was my experience.

Hmmm. Is that Bush you are describing???

People in Cuba are not starving. Granted, McDonnalds is not in every corner, and most of the time when they want to eat steak they have to settle for fried eggs, but even at its worst, people in Cuba are not hungry. And they ALL have medical attention and education; the entire island has electric power and paved roads, something that you dont see in any other 3rd world country. My mother is Cuban, and I know this first hand, because I've spent months in Cuba.

It is true that in Cuba they repress your political ideas, but which country doesn't? Go out right now in the middle of the USA with a sign that reads "Dead Bush" and see what happens to you.

You are talking about under Batista, right ??? :upsidedow

You mean pro CASTRO don't you?

For YEARS, I have been waiting for Castro to die so that the embargo will get lifted....As soon as it does, I'm buying property there, will retire and eventually LIVE there.....

So I'm pro Cuba but I don't give a fuck about Castro.

You really dont have to wait. you can go now, and buy. The question is how secure would the purchase be. But honestly when Cuba becomes free again, the question will be can you afford to buy.

Im not making any assumptions.

If I hold a sign up in Havana that says "Impeach Castro" what will happen to me?

I can go hold a sign that says "Impeach Bush" right now outside my office and some people will just honk their horns. Opnions in newspapers can say "impeach Bush". The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee openly considered impeachment proceedings. The US Senate voted on impeachment for Bill Clinton.

Try that in Cuba and see what happens to you.

Why talk about how nice it is to live in a communist country. It's absolutely absurd.

Same shit on many "tropical paradises". Ever been to Jamaica? The resorts are like heaven, but don't even think about leaving and going anywhere other than the "tourist" trips. Even some of those are pretty suss. Poverty, begging, people waiting to rob you, etc. It's best to stay inside the walls.

I've always wanted to go to Cuba.

I think her point was, that as free as some people think the US is, it is not. People have been arrested in the states with signs that spoke against Bush, Or had the FBI show up on thier door for talking about him.

My hotel in Jamaica:
http://linkification.com/linked/jamaica/hotel.jpg

Jamaican Street:
http://linkification.com/linked/jama...ica_street.jpg

Corona Moment:
http://linkification.com/linked/jamaica/paradise.jpg

Best chicken in the world!
http://linkification.com/linked/jama...aican_jerk.jpg

Holly. ICQ me for some photos from Cuba if you like.

Every country has laws, police and jails. Sometimes people are arrested for breaking these laws, sometimes people are arrested for what someone thinks is a violation of these laws, sometimes people get a fair trial, sometimes people don't. So? We all know that.

A seatbelt law is an infringement of my freedom. A terrible draconian measure whereby I am legally forced to be restrained to my seat when I drive (at less than 70 mph on I-95, of course). Am I truly FREE when i can't smoke in a restaurant, can't drive 90 mph, can't smoke weed, can't drive without a seatbelt, must restrain a baby in a child seat when driving, and so on? A myriad of laws all restricting my freedoms?

Some countries have laws that seem absurd to people from other countries. I was just in the Netherlands and couldn't get sudafed for my cold without a prescription. Yet I could buy and smoke weed or buy hookers. Where am I truly free? I can buy a handgun in the US. Does that make me more free than in most other western countries?

Most first world western countries that I've travelled to have about the same degree of political liberties. There are little differences. One might get arrested for denying the holocaust in one country but there might be no legal ramifications for the same action in another.

Freedom is meaningful only comparatively. It seems to me when you compare the political freedoms in Cuba vs The United States, Canada, Australia and the EU you are looking at two completely different worlds.

Very well said.:thumbsup

I was flying over Cuba with "Peaches". It looked beautiful from "up there" - some nice farmland and so on. So I turned to Peaches and said (jokingly) "Funny, they don't look like Communists down there".

Oh. My. God.

:helpme

Colin, you live there or just vacationing?

I'll be in Cuba within 30 days of the embargo being lifted....I'll be able to afford to buy.

cuba is boring

I would be afraid of clear title issues on property.

Jamaica? i just visited there. It was a webmaster gathering.

http://linkification.com/linked/jamaica/bridge.jpg

http://linkification.com/linked/jamaica/mount.jpg

http://linkification.com/linked/jamaica/nirvana.jpg

http://linkification.com/linked/jamaica/rastaman.jpg

Seems like a very difficult risk to assess and account for. For my taste, there's much lower hanging fruit in the world than Cuban property.

I can verify this is true :thumbsup

What's interesting is that we flew over it on Air Jamaica. On the way back I flew Delta and they fly AROUND Cuba - so America doesn't/can't even get into their airspace.

From info I've gotten from a Cuban friend of mine whose family gave up everything to come here in the 60's, the biggest issue regarding land is that much was taken away from the rightful owners when Castro came into power. Be VERY careful if you start buying there - could be it legally belongs to someone else.

Wouldn't be surprising if something like what happened in Russia's transition to a market economy - where a lot of wealth ending up in the hands of just a few ("the oligarchs") - occured. Then again history seldom repeats itself so simply. Rather, it "rhymes".

It will be interesting to watch. A lot of Cubans have come to the US and made a lot of money - money they could use to fight for land that was their family's way back when. I know my friend and his brother are willing to get back what was taken away from their parents and grandparents.

As far as poor Cubans either in the US or still in Cuba, you're probably right, they wouldn't have the $$$ to fight.

I was planning to go to Cuba this year :)

For everyone going on about starving children and poverty, have you been to any other latin american countries? How does it compare? I'm wondering of Cuba will phase me after CR, Panama, and Nicaragua...

Very interesting comments.


My mother visited Cuba a few years ago and had no problems. She told me it's very nice there really....

When I first moved to the UK I was a travel agent and it was a real culture shock when I was booking package holidays to Cuba. In that late 90's period it was pretty popular destination for UK folks looking for a beach holiday.

I can't wait for all the stupid Republican Cubans to go back to Cuba. USA should lift the embargo, open up their market and give them free rides back.

Cuba has issues no doubt. Nothing like they had before the revolution though I'll tell you that. At least people are not hungry and are educated.

Hehe I love all these pro-cubans. Everything looks lovely from a distance.
Try living there for a couple of months outside of the hotels area.

The first time you dont have toilet paper to wipe your ass, can´t eat steak,can´t find sanitary towels,can´t access google,yahoo, etc. you´ll be begging to go back home wherever it is.
Would you like it if your kids had to ask these kinds of questions:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/am...s/#cnnSTCVideo


I wonder why cubans cant stay in a cuban hotel even if they can afford it? Why they can´t travel outside their country? Why they can´t protest against their government without being detained? Sounds like a fucking paradise huh?

But hey, it´s cool to be anti-establishment and a Che Guevara (mass murderer btw) lover right? Oh wait, it´s not. We are not 16 years old anymore.

BTW, I have had the opportunity to talk to cubans living here in Venezuela in the Barrio Adentro Program. They are cuban doctors working here.
At first they won´t talk to you , but once you gain their trust they´ll talk openly about the living situation in Cuba.
That free health care sounds good, but when they have to reuse gause, dont have sutures, doctors dont have a basic x-ray machine, it doesn´t look too good.Of course, if you are a foreigner in Cuba you get first-class treatment (like in the documentary Sicko).

Free education. Sounds nice too , but cubans only learn what the government is willing to teach them. And worshipping Castro is a huge part of the education.

Yep, sounds like a real paradise.

What's the big deal about "free education" when the job it gets you pays $4500/year? I'd rather have the expensive education I took out loans for. Thanks.

I have never been there, and are not planning to either

you can go to cuba if you make a stop to bahamas or mexico first...