Should Obama open the door to free trade with Cuba?
This could put a lot of people to work and possibly help lay off some of the effects of the curent recession.
And don’t worry about communisim, once these kids get a taste of liberty, Fidel and his buddies are done!
God Bless America!
im not a politician but that sounds good…
I ready for some really good cigars and hot cuban women!!
aye aye!
I’m with the the bayoumobboss!!!
Yeah, now that we’ve got Hugo Chavez to focus our fear lenses on, let’s let Cuba off the hook.
Remember, for 50 years, the Castro regime has held power by painting the US in a bad light. That’s how they came to power in the first place ( Not that the Batista regime didn’t speed up their own demise). The Cuban Americans are split on this anyway. Once the Cuban people see we’re not all bad, they’ll come around.
I really want to see how they’ve kept all those 1957 Buicks running w/o spare parts for so long anyway!
Retired Rat: its simple really, they get their spare parts imported from Cuba friendly countries.
Having been to Cuba and seeing the Canadians, Europeans etc already there it appears the USA is the loser. I think Bush should go ahead and trade more with Cuba, agricultural products go there to some extent already. The US trades with communist China and Viet Nam already so cut the hypocrisy.
They sure do have some interesting vessels!
tengineer:
Got to agree. I was talking to a Brazilian friend of mine. Seems like the USA is the only county in the world not trading or using Cuba for a visitor destination.
Im also at the age where Viet Nam was the dreaded commie enemy (selective service lottery number 48) yet last summer I put a new inner tub on my wheel barrow. Yup, Made In Nam. I almost got sick thinking about the 58,226 Americans who died so I could have a cheep innertub 30 years later. I also had a an interesting conversation with a 20s kid born and raised in Hanoi. He said with a smile, " Viet Nam is the only county that defeated the US in war." He was very proud of that fact. Let me tell you, that was a real wake-up call. All I could do was nod.
Why no trading with Cuba? The Florda Cubans hate any support/trade for Cuba and vote significanlty Republican.
My vote… sell them corn, beans, wheet, and provide oilfield services and suck their fields dry…
Bob
Word, Chinas already there. We need to get over there and show them how its really done. 
The TS Golden Bear called on Danang two summers ago. I was there and let me tell you it was a blast. We sat on china beach and ate dirt cheap fresh seafood and even cheeper beer all day/night. I think I spent 40 bucks for 12 hours of eating and drinking. Apparently the Aussie Navy stops there every once in awhile (all the kids were yelling, “Oi Mate! You buy?”
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Poll: Miami’s Cuban-Americans favor end to embargo
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
MIAMI (AP) – A new poll shows that most of Miami’s Cuban-Americans think the U.S. should end its embargo against the communist island.
According to a postelection poll of Cuban-Americans in Miami-Dade County, 55 percent of Cuban-Americans now think the U.S. embargo against Cuba should end - a profound shift in the heart of the Cuban exile community.
Most respondents were Republicans who voted against President-elect Barack Obama, yet 65 percent or more said the U.S. should drop restrictions on travel and money transfers, re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba and establish dialogue about immigration and other critical issues.
The poll published Tuesday by the Brookings Institution and Florida International University surveyed 800 people - including 300 by cell phone - and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percent.
Ebb Tide:
WOW… Thanks for the update!
Amazing what a few decades will do for attitude change.
Bob
10 years ago I pulled into Cuba due to heavy weather. I called the USCG in Miami and they gave me permission. I made a log entry, and went for it. I was worried about being jailed or the boat being seized. Initially we were boarded by about 12 different agencies (maybe that’s an exaggeration). What I found was the friendliest officials I have ever encountered. Later that night, a couple customs officials took me out to a club. The next day I found myself in the immigration office drinking coffee, while the official sent out a boy to find us a Cuban courtesy flag. I stayed about 5 days, and learned that Cuba was not the enemy of the US. Tourists from around the world were there. The Cubans were (and rightly so) more afraid of a US invasion. So by asinine legislation, we are decades behind the Canadians and Europeans in business opportunities. And now look at the potential environmental and economic disaster our poorly managed government has created. Just recently, the Russians signed a contract to drill for oil off the Cuban coast! I can hear the Russians laughing at us across the sea.