U.S. said to plan easing rules for travel to Cuba

[Judi Lynn]

Source: New York Times

U.S. said to plan easing rules for travel to Cuba
Officials: Embargo against government will continue even as travel opportunities expand
By Ginger Thompson

updated 1 hour 11 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is planning to expand opportunities for Americans to travel to Cuba, the latest step aimed at encouraging more contact between people in both countries, while leaving intact the decades-old embargo against the island’s Communist government, according to Congressional and administration officials.

The officials, who asked not to be identified because they had not been authorized to discuss the policy before it was announced, said it was meant to loosen restrictions on academic, religious and cultural groups that were adopted under President George W. Bush, and return to the “people to people” policies followed under President Bill Clinton.

Those policies, officials said, fostered robust exchanges between the United States and Cuba, allowing groups — including universities, sports teams, museums and chambers of commerce — to share expertise as well as life experiences.

Policy analysts said the intended changes would mark a significant shift in Cuba policy. In early 2009, President Obama lifted restrictions on travel and remittances only for Americans with relatives on the island.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38734399/ns/world_news-the_new_york_times/

[dipsydoodle]

1. But don't forget

travellers shouldn't forget to get their Euros before travelling there. :rofl:

[Judi Lynn]

2. Gotta have Euros, they don't take dollars. Yessir!

http://peanutbutterjellytime.net.nyud.net:8090/peanut-butter-jelly-time.gif http://peanutbutterjellytime.net.nyud.net:8090/peanut-butter-jelly-time.gif http://peanutbutterjellytime.net.nyud.net:8090/peanut-butter-jelly-time.gif http://peanutbutterjellytime.net.nyud.net:8090/peanut-butter-jelly-time.gif

[dipsydoodle]

3. Also

no credit/debit card transactions where card is attached to a US bank and no use of mobiles via US providors. US$s can be changed there, apparently, but subject to a minimum 10% surcharge.

Life ain't easy for travellers when their own country maintains an outdated embargo against Cuba but then who with any sense would expect it to be.

Love the bananas. :)

[Judi Lynn]

12. Thanks for the information on credit cards, and phones! I doubt most US citizens realize this.

Just another benefit from having a government which has proven to the world it's not too big to be small, petty, and vicious.

If good sense earned any respect here, we wouldn't be associated with something as dirty as the embargo against Cuba. :hi:

http://0.tqn.com.nyud.net:8090/d/politicalhumor/1/0/A/h/2/cuba-embargo.gif http://2.bp.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090/_V4w18ZWaPas/Sq7SuAANz0I/AAAAAAAAFAk/lK4MLUozgDg/s400/United-States-Cuba-Cartoon.gif

http://2.bp.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090/_1aTrKKEiz2A/SRRJbIHDxyI/AAAAAAAABA4/pW_Ba4QSUfQ/s320/Cuba_embargo.JPG http://www.donconti.com.nyud.net:8090/cigar-blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/embargo-231x300.jpg

[flamingdem]

24. Oh yes they do take dollars, gladly

and they wack a large percent off if you exchange them in Havana. I have to check the exact amount but it's at least 10%.

However if you take American Express travellers cheques they take less, yes you can use them even if they are drawn on an American bank. This works at major hotel banks at least.

[Vinca]

4. It boggles the mind we give communist China all our money and jobs,

yet we can't spend a lousy American dollar in Cuba without fear of arrest.

[MadMaddie]

14. You have a great point!

It's ridiculous!

[mwooldri]

5. Easing?? Is that it?

Why is there still a ban?

The best way to change Cuba (if you want to that is) is to let a whole lot of sunshine pour right in.

Instead of blocking, start engaging.

Instead of silence, start talking.

[Billy Burnett]

7. Yes. Americans will still need special approval to go.

Why is the goal of the US, as constantly stated, to change Cuba? :wtf:

I've been to Cuba many times and one thing I can say is ... Americans could learn a lot from Cuba.

If Cubans want change, then they should be left to do so as they see fit. As things are now, the US pumps hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into questionable "dissident" operations designed to undermine and destabilize Cuba.

Americans should be calling out for the FULL NORMALIZATION of relations with Cuba and for an end to overt/covert operations against Cuba.

[Billy Burnett]

6. Just what Cuba needs. Strategic chambers of commerce visits to share their expertise.

Yes, lots of Milton Friedman economists, US chambers of commerce, and US health care experts, will show Cuba how to do it right!

:sarcasm:

HEY, I've got an idea :think: ... how about just enfranchising ALL Americans with their constitutional right to unfettered travel?

[sinkingfeeling]

8. I want the travel ban completely lifted for everybody.

[Lance_Boyle]

9. Fuck that - chamber of commerce can go but I as an individual can't?

A soccer team can go but I can't? This is nonsensical, and I have to think a violation of equal protection. Then again, every single bit of our policy towards Cuba (especially towards the dry-foot variety of Cuban militant) is nonsensical and unjust.

[harun]

10. END THE EMBARGO !!!!

[h9socialist]

11. I want to pay homage to Che's remains in Santa Clara!

[Judi Lynn]

13. I'm pretty sure I read the "exile" terrorists tried to bomb that place once.

That's about par for those scums. Nothing too low, stupid, or petty for them to attempt.

[dipsydoodle]

20. I'll be visiting in Santa Clara in October

I'll check that out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara_Mausoleum

[Judi Lynn]

21. You're going! Wonderful. So good to hear you're going to do it.

That's a big memorial. I didn't even know the statue was part of it. Looked for another view, found this:

http://cache.virtualtourist.com.nyud.net:8090/4039015-Che_mausoleum-Santa_Clara.jpg

http://images.travelpod.com.nyud.net:8090/users/hellomellow/mellow08.1198274460.varadero-beach.jpg

And the beach there! Whoa!

http://www.netssa.com.nyud.net:8090/image/cayo_santa_maria_beach3.jpg

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com.nyud.net:8090/media/photo-s/01/26/cf/d4/beach.jpg

http://rolisbb.com.nyud.net:8090/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/varadero_beach.jpg

After they tried to demolish it, looks as if the Cubans fixed it up REALLY well!

[dipsydoodle]

22. Three whole weeks

Whoo hoo !

:hi:

[cory777]

15. US weighs easing of Cuba travel restrictions

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration, in a test of the Castro regime's appetite for reform, is considering easing travel restrictions to Cuba, U.S. and congressional officials said Tuesday.

The move would leave intact the nearly 50-year-old embargo against the communist regime but would expand opportunities for American students, educators and researchers to visit Cuba, the officials said. The discussions to ease restrictions follow the release in July of the first batch of political prisoners Havana had pledged to free.

President Barack Obama has said that he wants to reach out to Cuba and promote democracy there by easing travel and financial restrictions. But he has also said there must be political or economic reforms before the U.S. takes further steps to ease Cuba's isolation.

A decision could be announced before the end of next week. However, the officials cautioned that political considerations could hold up a decision, possibly until after November's midterm congressional elections. They spoke on condition of anonymity because internal deliberations continue on the scope and scale of the changes.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100817/ap_on_bi_ge/us_us_cuba

---

Uncensored Activist News http://activistnews.blogspot.com

[Hulk]

16. I'm tired of hearing this crap....like we're doing them some big favor.

If you want to go to Cuba...GO! Come on down to Mexico and catch a flight....or Canada. I know a boat load of people who have done it...and F*CK the USA immigration bs. IF they ever open it up to American travel.....it won't take long and it will be like Las Vegas or Cancun. We screw up all the third world countries eventually.

[defendandprotect]

17. Don't rush... it's only been a half century of US trying to destroy Cuba ... !!!

[flamingdem]

26. !! truly !! nt

[Judi Lynn]

18. Can't believe this headline! "How Muslims cope in touchy-feely Cuba"

How Muslims cope in touchy-feely Cuba
By Shasta Darlington, CNN
August 18, 2010 -- Updated 0946 GMT (1746 HKT)

Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- Every Friday, Pedro Lazo Torres, clears the furniture out of his second-storey apartment in a potholed Havana suburb and lines the floors and balcony with carpets.

For Havana's Muslims, he is Imam Yahya, and the home that he shares with his wife and two adult children, is their place of worship.

"You can be a Chinese, Cuban or Russian Muslim and the laws are the same for everyone," Yahya told CNN. "The cultures can be different, but someone who embraces Islam must accept what Allah orders, it's that simple."

There are about 1,500 Muslims in Cuba, but no mosques. That's why, at the end of each week, Yahya, dressed in an immaculate white cap and tunic, welcomes people for Friday prayer. Women head inside, sitting on the living room floor, while men tend to kneel on the shady balcony.

~snip~
Noalia Gladys Carmen Perez, who wears a headscarf, told CNN she and other adults have encountered some resistance to their faith.

"I've had good reactions, people who greet with you respect, and people who don't like it," she told CNN. "They'll say, 'It must be so hot,' comments like that as a form of criticism."

Headscarves have never been an issue in schools, in part because Islam is relatively new in the country. However, few can pray at work, either because their schedules or social norms won't allow it.

Many also find it hard to adopt certain Muslim customs here in the touchy-feely tropics. In Cuba, men and women usually greet each other with a kiss.

Ibrahim Kinsan, a physical therapist, says most of his co-workers are women. "Now I've converted to Islam, but I can't just turn into an alien," he told CNN. "Most of them greet me with a kiss and that tradition isn't going to disappear."

More:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/08/18/cuba.havana.muslim/index.html#fbid=q1U2OJnT7yd&wom=false

[dipsydoodle]

19. Ain't nothing new to me

Was the way I bought up - seriously.

[flamingdem]

25. This is very funny thanks

I never thought about how difficult that could be in Cuba. I found it interesting that the Chinese that have roots there do the cat calls and the overt eye contact and flirting that looks out of character compared with Chinese I know here (I'm trying not to overdo the stereotype) but it's funny to observe (to me anyway).

[dipsydoodle]

23. Ballet anyone ?

The American Ballet Theatre company is to perform in Cuba later this year for the first time in 50 years.

Barack Obama's administration has given the troupe permission to dance at the Havana International Ballet Festival at the Karl Marx Theatre.

Its last Cuban performance was at the inaugural event in 1960.

While the general travel ban on US tourists remains, it is the latest sign of an easing of relations between the two former Cold War adversaries.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11010321

[Judi Lynn]

27. They'll be ready for them, too. They LOVE ballet in Cuba, hearty, enthusiastic ballet fans,

just as they are baseball fans, etc., etc., etc.

There's a poster here and at the old CNN US/Cuba Policy message board, now defunct, who was visiting in Cuba and went to a performance of their Ballet Nacional de Cuba. She said it's either free, or almost free, it's a definite public event which doesn't keep anyone out for lack of dispensable income.

You've got one of their amazing prodigies in London at the Royal Ballet who learned ballet in Cuba and danced with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba as a very young guy.

http://img.dailymail.co.uk.nyud.net:8090/i/pix/2007/10_03/CarlosAcosta_468x410.jpg http://www.ballet.co.uk.nyud.net:8090/images/acosta/dm_spartacus_carlos_acosta_jump_500.jpg

http://www.havanatimes.org.nyud.net:8090/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/acosta-2.jpg

http://static.guim.co.uk.nyud.net:8090/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/7/10/1247247224820/Carlos-Acosta-001.jpg

Carlos Acosta's Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Acosta

The American Ballet, going there in November, is just going to miss someone we can think of who'll be there in October!