He can't go there, there's too many PRs for his liking.Jay wrote:
Mac, unless you've got a serious hankering for a Cubano cigar, you can enjoy beautiful beaches and crushing poverty without the need for a passport! PR awaits!
he's ricanUnkleRukus wrote:
He can't go there, there's too many PRs for his liking.Jay wrote:
Mac, unless you've got a serious hankering for a Cubano cigar, you can enjoy beautiful beaches and crushing poverty without the need for a passport! PR awaits!
Don't they hate each other?Jay wrote:
he's ricanUnkleRukus wrote:
He can't go there, there's too many PRs for his liking.Jay wrote:
Mac, unless you've got a serious hankering for a Cubano cigar, you can enjoy beautiful beaches and crushing poverty without the need for a passport! PR awaits!
I didn't think anyone liked haitians tbheleven bravo wrote:
dominicans, cubans and pussy ricans all hate each other. dominicans really really hate haitians
Hurricane wrote:
The only other option is to eject Florida from the US (sorry Kmar).
.. and even then, most Cuban Americans don't really care. ggMacbeth wrote:
The point is- we shouldn't allow a small group of people in Florida
Erm...bullshit.DonFck wrote:
The worst things happening on the island is on American soil. The country is in it's shit economical state because of the embargo, and not because it's communist. Without E.g. Soviet assistance Cuba would've been even more fucked. Give me a good example of "bad stuff to people" and "being terrible" and I'll give you tenfold in return on what your country has done. Many, most if not all of the "terrible" things that happen in Cuba are directly or indirectly linked to the embargo.Macbeth wrote:
But, Macbeth, the Castro regime is terrible and does bad stuff to people!!That's an original thought. Only the rest of the world have been saying that since 1960.Macbeth wrote:
I say we end the embargo and welcome in an era of free trade between Cuba and the West.
So yeah, end the embargo. Now.
But shut up about the "fuck off and die"-shit. DAST doesn't need titles like that.
Oh, and about taking sides: Communism to the U.S. in the Cold War was, well you know what it was. So there aren't many options in taking sides if you wish to uphold your politics. Fuck, Finland had to team up with Nazi Germany during WWII because the Allied were in bed with the Soviets. The other choice would've been to become a part of the Soviet Union. Thanks.
FEOS wrote:
Erm...bullshit.DonFck wrote:
The country is in it's shit economical state because of the embargo, and not because it's communist. Without E.g. Soviet assistance Cuba would've been even more fucked. Many, most if not all of the "terrible" things that happen in Cuba are directly or indirectly linked to the embargo.That's an original thought. Only the rest of the world have been saying that since 1960.Macbeth wrote:
I say we end the embargo and welcome in an era of free trade between Cuba and the West.
That island is free to trade with whatever country it chooses to...other than the US. That leaves a couple of hundred other options, to include another communist nation that happens to have the second largest GDP and fastest-growing economy in the world.
If Cuba hasn't adjusted to ONE country not trading with them and allowed THAT to keep their economy from prospering (as if that's actually the reason), then this bunch of fuckups get what they deserve, tbh.
wiki wrote:
The 1963 U.S. embargo was reinforced in October 1992 by the Cuban Democracy Act (the "Torricelli Law") and in 1996 by the Cuban Liberty and Democracy Solidarity Act (known as the Helms-Burton Act) which penalizes foreign companies that do business in Cuba by preventing them from doing business in the US. Justification provided for these restrictions was that these companies were trafficking in stolen U.S. properties, and should, thus, be excluded from the United States.
Radio Martí was established in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan, at the urging of Jorge Mas Canosa, with the mission of fighting communism. Today, it broadcasts a 24-hour radio program on short and medium wave.
In the early 1980s, the U.S. Government planned to create a radio station to be known as Radio Free Cuba, modeled on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, with the hopes of hastening the fall of Cuban president Fidel Castro. Existing North American broadcasters objected strenuously to these plans, fearing that they would lead Cuba to retaliate by jamming existing commercial medium-wave broadcasts from Florida. These fears proved true in 1985, when Cuba-based transmitters briefly broadcast powerful signals on the medium wave band, disrupting U.S. AM radio station broadcasts in several states. Cuba continues to broadcast interference with U.S. broadcasts specifically directed to Cuba, in attempts to prevent them from being received within Cuba.
On May 20, 1985, broadcasts to Cuba from the United States began. The first day of broadcasting was chosen to commemorate the anniversary of Cuba's independence from Spanish colonial rule, May 20, 1902. The station came to be named Radio Martí after Cuban writer José Martí, who had fought for Cuba's independence from Spain and against U.S. influence in the Americas.
Worked on it, years ago after it got hammered by a hurricane.Kmar wrote:
Did you guys know that Radio Marti is still broadcasting?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_y_Te … Mart%C3%ADRadio Martí was established in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan, at the urging of Jorge Mas Canosa, with the mission of fighting communism. Today, it broadcasts a 24-hour radio program on short and medium wave.
In the early 1980s, the U.S. Government planned to create a radio station to be known as Radio Free Cuba, modeled on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, with the hopes of hastening the fall of Cuban president Fidel Castro. Existing North American broadcasters objected strenuously to these plans, fearing that they would lead Cuba to retaliate by jamming existing commercial medium-wave broadcasts from Florida. These fears proved true in 1985, when Cuba-based transmitters briefly broadcast powerful signals on the medium wave band, disrupting U.S. AM radio station broadcasts in several states. Cuba continues to broadcast interference with U.S. broadcasts specifically directed to Cuba, in attempts to prevent them from being received within Cuba.
On May 20, 1985, broadcasts to Cuba from the United States began. The first day of broadcasting was chosen to commemorate the anniversary of Cuba's independence from Spanish colonial rule, May 20, 1902. The station came to be named Radio Martí after Cuban writer José Martí, who had fought for Cuba's independence from Spain and against U.S. influence in the Americas.
Yea the legislature opened up travel to citizens/relatives as some sort of aid shit. Had been that way for several years if I remember right.Kmar wrote:
They just started direct flights from Tampa to Cuba.
Is relevant
'talkin about this13rin wrote:
Yea the legislature opened up travel to citizens/relatives as some sort of aid shit. Had been that way for several years if I remember right.Kmar wrote:
They just started direct flights from Tampa to Cuba.
Is relevant
By JOSÉ PATIÑO GIRONA | The Tampa Tribune
Published: July 20, 2011
Updated: July 20, 2011 - 8:45 AM
TAMPA --
Armando Ramirez has made a successful career for the last 25 years selling charter flights from Miami to Cuba.
But he guarantees his Tampa business will get a boost if the Cuban government signs off on direct flights from Tampa to Havana.
"Many more people are going to fly," said Ramirez, who owns Tampa Envios, 2919 W. Columbus Drive.
"I always thought that the correct thing was to have flights from Tampa to Cuba," said the Spanish-speaking Ramirez. "We've always struggled for this to occur, so it could be a benefit for everyone."
Cuban-Americans in the Tampa Bay area would benefit because it would eliminate the time and money spent on traveling to Miami to board a charter flight to Havana. Travelers would no longer have to spend money on gas, a short plane flight to South Florida or a night at a Miami hotel.
Businesses in Tampa that cater to Cuban-Americans visiting the island-nation also stand to gain because directs flights from TIA would entice more travelers, owners of the specialty travel agencies say.
Ramirez estimates more than 80 percent of his clients would forgo traveling to Cuba from Miami and purchase tickets to travel directly from Tampa instead. In addition, he believes a number of people who refused to travel in the past would now embrace it because of the convenience.
The people in the Bay area who would still take flights to Cuba out of Miami are the ones traveling to cities other than Havana, such as Santiago, Holguin and Cienfuegos, Ramirez said. But those travelers would be the minority once direct flights from Tampa to Havana are established, he said.
There are an estimated 75,000 Cuban-Americans living in the Bay area, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2009 survey.
Owners of local travel agencies that sell flights to Cuba say direct flights from TIA also will entice Cuban-Americans from cities such as Sarasota, Orlando, Ocala, Jacksonville and Tallahassee.
María Padron, who owns Taino of Tampa Pedro Envios, 3243 W. Columbus Drive, is confident that her business selling flights to Cuba would benefit.
It would be more convenient for the traveler and that convenience would translate to more business, she said.
"It would be something wonderful for everyone – for the community, for the agency," Padron said.
But agencies that sell flights won't be the only businesses to benefit. There are a number of stores throughout Tampa that cater to Cuba-bound travelers.
They sell inexpensive shirts, blouses, nightgowns, socks, shoes and clothing accessories that Cuban-Americans load up with to take to family and friends who are in need on the island. The company that charters the plane charges $1 for each pound of merchandise in excess of 44 pounds.
Aurelio Milian, owner of Aurelio Wholesale in Tampa, said he estimates that 60 percent of customers at his store are buying to take items to Cuba.
Direct flights would be a boon, he said. There are many people who live in this area who travel, but there are many who won't because they don't want to deal with the hassle of traveling to Miami or simply don't have the means to get there, he said.
"There will be a complete change for my business and for others as well," said Milian, who opened his store at 3260 W. Hillsborough Ave. four years ago.
Brenda Geoghagan, a spokeswoman for TIA, said new international flights serve as an economic catalyst for the community and the Cuba flights would be no exception.
"There is a potential for many groups," she said.
The Tampa airport currently is waiting for the Cuban government to issue landing rights. It might be in the summer or early fall before TIA gets the OK to begin the flights, she said.
Once it is issued, she anticipates two to three chartered flights from TIA to Havana a week.
"In the beginning, I see it very conservative just to see how the demand is," Geoghagan said.
Travel to Cuba is allowed only for Cuban-Americans who have relatives on the island and for those such as academics, journalists and artists who have approval from the U.S. government. Roundtrip flights from Miami to Havana cost around $400 to $460.
Maria Sánchez travels annually to Cuba to visit her parents and siblings. But the trips can be arduous, she said.
Recently, she had to leave her Tampa home at 6 a.m. to have ample time to arrive at a scheduled check-in at Miami International Airport by noon.
When she returns from visiting her relatives, a family member drives Sánchez's car from Tampa to Miami to pick her up and an exhausted Sánchez drives back more than four hours to her home.
Sánchez, who works as a cashier at Aurelio Wholesale, said she and many Cuban-Americans who live in the Bay area yearn for direct flights from TIA.
"It would be less of a worry," said a Spanish-speaking Sánchez. "From here you can call a taxi and they take you from your front door to the airport."
