Comments on: Next Year in Havana? Ending the U.S. Travel Ban Should Be First Step in Normalizing Relations with Cuba http://www.coha.org/end-the-us-travel-ban/ COHA is an NGO specialized in monitoring Latin American and Canadian Relations for more than 30 years... Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:41:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: howard cox http://www.coha.org/end-the-us-travel-ban/comment-page-1/#comment-37392 howard cox Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:48:34 +0000 http://www.coha.org/?p=7896#comment-37392 Dr. Ashby I agree that the U.S. embargo should have been lifted years ago. As an American citizen, I don"t want my Government restricting my freedom- like the Government of Cuba does. Our embargo has done nothing more than give the Castro brothers a handy excuse for 50 yrs. of failure. I am pleased to see Fidel now agrees with me, and understands Communism does not work. As to Cuba holding free and fair elections, that is intellectual dishonesty of the first order. To compare them with elections in the U.S. is absolute nonsense. I have never heard of a raft being built in Florida to float to Cuba. Fidel Castro has turned Cuba into a beggar nation that has oppressed it"s own people, and if it were not for decades of being kept afloat by the Soviet Union- which eventually imploded under the weight of it"s failed economic system and brutal imperialism- and now by billions in aid from Venezuela, Fidel would have been pushed aside by his own people. You are clearly aware of what Chavez has done to the economy of Venezuela. When he came to power 11 yrs.ago, Venezuela had the highest per capita income in Latin America. And today? Inflation has averaged 30% since Dec. 2009, he has had to devalue the Bolivar by 50%, rolling blackouts along with increasing shortages of potable water, and in the last 6 months, Venezuelas economy has contracted by 12%. Venezuela is in the middle of an extreme food crisis since the government has destroyed Venezuela"s agriculture and taken over the food distribution in the country. Chavez is on the same road that Castro took in Cuba, and he will end up with the same result. History has shown over and over again that centrally planned economies controlled by the Government have never worked. They have only destroyed the freedom of their citizens. Dr. Ashby I agree that the U.S. embargo should have been lifted years ago. As an American citizen, I don"t want my Government restricting my freedom- like the Government of Cuba does.
Our embargo has done nothing more than give the Castro brothers a handy excuse for 50 yrs. of failure. I am pleased to see Fidel now agrees with me, and understands Communism does not work.
As to Cuba holding free and fair elections, that is intellectual dishonesty of the first order. To compare them with elections in the U.S. is absolute nonsense.
I have never heard of a raft being built in Florida to float to Cuba.
Fidel Castro has turned Cuba into a beggar nation that has oppressed it"s own people, and if it were not for decades of being kept afloat by the Soviet Union- which eventually imploded under the weight of it"s failed economic system and brutal imperialism- and now by billions in aid from Venezuela, Fidel would have been pushed aside by his own people.
You are clearly aware of what Chavez has done to the economy of Venezuela. When he came to power 11 yrs.ago, Venezuela had the highest per capita income in Latin America.
And today? Inflation has averaged 30% since Dec. 2009, he has had to devalue the Bolivar by 50%, rolling blackouts along with increasing shortages of potable water, and in the last 6 months, Venezuelas economy has contracted by 12%.
Venezuela is in the middle of an extreme food crisis since the government has destroyed Venezuela"s agriculture and taken over the food distribution in the country. Chavez is on the same road that Castro took in Cuba, and he will end up with the same result.
History has shown over and over again that centrally planned economies controlled by the Government have never worked. They have only destroyed the freedom of their citizens.

]]> By: Gene http://www.coha.org/end-the-us-travel-ban/comment-page-1/#comment-35606 Gene Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:32:00 +0000 http://www.coha.org/?p=7896#comment-35606 Cuba's oil is not the greatest prize. Most of it is located off-shore and is sulfur heavy, making it more costly to refine. But, I would rather have US Companies invest in the Cuban energy sector rather than having the Chinese, Venezuelans, or some other nation drilling less than a hundred miles from our shores. The Cubans have installed hundreds of diesel generators to increase their electric power capacity since 2005. Most of those generators came from Europe or Asia. US Companies would have been the logical choice to supply the generators if the embargo was not in place. There is no doubt that lifting of the travel ban will have benefits for both the US and Cuban people, but in my opinion, this will also have a negative effect on tourism for the rest of the Caribbean region, decreasing revenue for some locations. The initial influx of American tourists will be overwhelming, given the fact that it will be such a new experience for most. In the end it will be well worth the time we have invested in lifting the travel ban. Cuba's oil is not the greatest prize. Most of it is located off-shore and is sulfur heavy, making it more costly to refine. But, I would rather have US Companies invest in the Cuban energy sector rather than having the Chinese, Venezuelans, or some other nation drilling less than a hundred miles from our shores. The Cubans have installed hundreds of diesel generators to increase their electric power capacity since 2005. Most of those generators came from Europe or Asia. US Companies would have been the logical choice to supply the generators if the embargo was not in place. There is no doubt that lifting of the travel ban will have benefits for both the US and Cuban people, but in my opinion, this will also have a negative effect on tourism for the rest of the Caribbean region, decreasing revenue for some locations. The initial influx of American tourists will be overwhelming, given the fact that it will be such a new experience for most. In the end it will be well worth the time we have invested in lifting the travel ban.

]]> By: Ponce http://www.coha.org/end-the-us-travel-ban/comment-page-1/#comment-35595 Ponce Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:12:21 +0000 http://www.coha.org/?p=7896#comment-35595 US wants to make "peace" with Cuba???..........LOL, US wants the OIL from Cuba. Any time anyone tells you "For your convenience" you better check your wallet to see if you still have it. US wants to make "peace" with Cuba???……….LOL, US wants the OIL from Cuba.

Any time anyone tells you "For your convenience" you better check your wallet to see if you still have it.

]]> By: Josie Michel-Brüning http://www.coha.org/end-the-us-travel-ban/comment-page-1/#comment-35589 Josie Michel-Brüning Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:59:48 +0000 http://www.coha.org/?p=7896#comment-35589 Sorry for my writing mistakes above, I was in a hurry. Referring to the "American ideals" mentioned in the article, they doesn't seem to be effective in US foreign policy: In 1979 professor of finance Edward Herman and professor of linguistic Noam Chomsky wrote the book, The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism: The Political Economy of Human Rights: Volume I, and Manufacturing Consent: [this book wasn't printed, it was forbidden in the "land of the free"] The Political Economy of the Mass Media. “Chomsky and Herman cite official statements by State Department planner George Kennan, to illustrate the mindset behind US policy in Latin America and around the world. In 1948, Kennan wrote Policy Planning Study 23, stating that if the U.S. wanted to maintain (and expand) its position of world dominance, it could not truly respect human rights and democracy abroad. The document said: We have about 50 percent of the world’s wealth, but only about 6 percent of its population…In this situation we cannot fail to be the object of envy and resentment. Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships that will permit us to maintain this disparity…To do so we will have to dispense with sentimentality and daydreaming; and our attention will have to be concentrated everywhere on our immediate national objectives…We should cease to talk about vague and…unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of living standards and democratization. Kennan elaborated on this concept in a 1950 briefing of U.S. ambassadors to Latin American countries. Of prime importance was to prevent the spreading of the idea “that governments are responsible for the well being of their people.” To combat the proliferation of this idea, Kennan argued that “we should not hesitate before police repression by the local government…It is better to have a strong regime in power than a liberal one if it is indulgent and relaxed and penetrated by Communist.” (1) That concept seems to dominate the USA until now, it puts ideas across why they are resenting Cuba its pioneering task in the matter of independence within their back yard, and why they don’t be afraid of hidden wars carried out by therefore educated terrorists such as Orlando Bosch Ávila and Luis Posada Carriles. (1) s., Hans Bennet, <a href="http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2009/01/edward-herman-on-latin-america-and-the-us/" target="_blank">http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2009/01/edward-herm...</a> ; Because of the "Cuban Five", please visit <a href="http://www.freethefive.org" target="_blank">www.freethefive.org</a> . Sorry for my writing mistakes above, I was in a hurry.
Referring to the "American ideals" mentioned in the article, they doesn't seem to be effective in US foreign policy:
In 1979 professor of finance Edward Herman and professor of linguistic Noam Chomsky wrote the book, The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism: The Political Economy of Human Rights: Volume I, and Manufacturing Consent: [this book wasn't printed, it was forbidden in the "land of the free"] The Political Economy of the Mass Media.
“Chomsky and Herman cite official statements by State Department planner George Kennan, to illustrate the mindset behind US policy in Latin America and around the world. In 1948, Kennan wrote Policy Planning Study 23, stating that if the U.S. wanted to maintain (and expand) its position of world dominance, it could not truly respect human rights and democracy abroad. The document said:
We have about 50 percent of the world’s wealth, but only about 6 percent of its population…In this situation we cannot fail to be the object of envy and resentment. Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships that will permit us to maintain this disparity…To do so we will have to dispense with sentimentality and daydreaming; and our attention will have to be concentrated everywhere on our immediate national objectives…We should cease to talk about vague and…unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of living standards and democratization.
Kennan elaborated on this concept in a 1950 briefing of U.S. ambassadors to Latin American countries. Of prime importance was to prevent the spreading of the idea “that governments are responsible for the well being of their people.” To combat the proliferation of this idea, Kennan argued that “we should not hesitate before police repression by the local government…It is better to have a strong regime in power than a liberal one if it is indulgent and relaxed and penetrated by Communist.” (1)
That concept seems to dominate the USA until now, it puts ideas across why they are resenting Cuba its pioneering task in the matter of independence within their back yard, and why they don’t be afraid of hidden wars carried out by therefore educated terrorists such as Orlando Bosch Ávila and Luis Posada Carriles.
(1) s., Hans Bennet, http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2009/01/edward-herm… ;
Because of the "Cuban Five", please visit http://www.freethefive.org .

]]> By: Josie Michel-Brüning http://www.coha.org/end-the-us-travel-ban/comment-page-1/#comment-35588 Josie Michel-Brüning Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:58:09 +0000 http://www.coha.org/?p=7896#comment-35588 I want to join Ana J's comment! My husband and I visited Cuba in 1995 for the first time coming from Germany. It was within the worst time of the "special period" yet, after the collaps of the Soviet Union. ... Nevertheless, we found another country, different from what we were told at home by our medias. There was no police forbidding us to talk with Cuban inhabitants. All people we met were hospitable, intelligent and aware of their current situation. in 1998 we realized growing economy, and from year to year the situation of the people improved significantly. There are free election, much more democratical than even in Germany! Please read the Canadian author, Arnold August, who shared them twice and wrote books about them. However, beside of the blockade there wore terror attacks against Cuba and Cuban Hotels and Restaurantans carried out by exile Cubans from Miami. Those "Cuban Five" being improned in the US until now for preventing more than 170 of them should be release at the first step, not ill then you can talk about improving realtions between US and Cuba, I think.. I want to join Ana J's comment! My husband and I visited Cuba in 1995 for the first time coming from Germany. It was within the worst time of the "special period" yet, after the collaps of the Soviet Union. … Nevertheless, we found another country, different from what we were told at home by our medias. There was no police forbidding us to talk with Cuban inhabitants. All people we met were hospitable, intelligent and aware of their current situation.
in 1998 we realized growing economy, and from year to year the situation of the people improved significantly.
There are free election, much more democratical than even in Germany! Please read the Canadian author, Arnold August, who shared them twice and wrote books about them.
However, beside of the blockade there wore terror attacks against Cuba and Cuban Hotels and Restaurantans carried out by exile Cubans from Miami.
Those "Cuban Five" being improned in the US until now for preventing more than 170 of them should be release at the first step, not ill then you can talk about improving realtions between US and Cuba, I think..

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