I don't know how many people are aware of the changes that have just been made in the United States' policies regarding Cuba...my mom is really conscious about Cuba, she's traveled there, so she makes sure I'm informed. Thanks to a push from the wealthier among the Cuban-American community, a new effort is being made to starve out the Cuban economy. Basically, the people that fled after the Batista regime collapsed (what the Revolution toppled) now hold deeds to land that, as soon as Castro dies, the government fails and the country returns to capitalism, will be developed for hundreds of dollars. The push is coming from Florida, it's mainly a Florida issue, and it's been pushed by Jeb Bush a lot. Before now, Cubans living in the U.S. could return to Cuba for up to three months every year and bring $5000, with special dispensations available for emergencies. Now, people are only allowed back every THREE years for a month and can bring only a few hundred dollars. This means that families with no other income other than what their provider is sending from the United States are basically going to starve, and families are going to remain split up, and everything is going to get MUCH poorer, if you can believe that. People that my mom met and really got to know are now seperated from their families for years, worrying about them with little possible contact. The clincher? This change in policy came RIGHT before the election to boost Bushie approval, since Florida is such a "swing" state and getting the wealthier Cuban-Americans would be a good thing for the Repubs. I think it's ridiculous, won't do anything good for us and Castro obviously isn't going to give up, he's shown that over the years. It just makes life much worse for the average Cuban and engenders more anger toward "imperialist" America.

The U.S. government tried to put chemicals in Fidel Castro's food in attempts to make his beard fall out, because they thought if he lost his beard the Cubans wouldn't see him as a leader and they'd overthrow him. They even tried to assassinate him by putting arsenic in his milkshakes one time.

Just when I thought our foreign policy relations with Cuba couldn't get dumber...

And hey, how come we can embargo Cuba for being communist...but not China?

I know a lot about Cuba. I have a teacher who's been there twice, and was very careful to show us anti and pro Castro material when we learned about Cuban history in IB History of the Americas.

Short Synopsis of Cuban History: Batista was an evil thug ruling Cuba who was put in power by the U.S. Castro overthrew him in 1959, and because of this the U.S. became obsessed with getting revenge and kicking Castro out of power. Castro made Cuba a communist dictatorship, and the U.S. was trying to prove communism was evil because of the Cold War. But in Cuba's case, it worked, because Castro turned Cuba from a third world country to one where healthcare and education are free for every Cuban citizen, and the literacy rate is higher than it is in the U.S.

This May I was going to go on a trip to Cuba with 20 other students from my school. We did a lot of research to organize this trip, and fundraising to pay for it. This was going to be our big reward for studying Cuba and finishing this two year class on American History.



THANKS TO PRESIDENT BUSH, NOW WE CAN'T GO.



This makes all of us pretty damn mad, because there really is no problem with us going. Cuba is not evil. It is not in turmoil. There are no roving gangs. There is no genocidal corrupt government. It is different, but it has been slowly improving Cuba for the last 40 years, and most importantly making it a peaceful and balanced place. Two days ago, Bush vowed to get Castro out of power. Bush will simply drop the word communism, and dictator, and people will automatically assume he's another Saddam and love Bush for trying to get him out of power. This is such bull**** I can't even believe it. Even when Bush was elected, he was gunning for this. You know what happened to people who went to Cuba (it was difficult but possible to get there through legal loopholes up until now)? They got followed. By Castro's opressive communist spies? No. By U.S. government agents. The U.S. even made laws like Americans couldn't spend more than 4 hours at a beach, and had to give a list of all activities planned for their trip to the U.S. embassy there on a weekly basis.

If Bush wins and invades or somehow tries to mess with Cuba, I'm gonna freak out. It's just so stupid.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ICELAND,

No one wants to comment on this? Come on, I think it's pretty interesting!