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Doug Terry

 

FORMER COLLEAGUE SLAMS BILL O’REILLY

WalMart Minimum Wage Raised

LESLEY GORE DIES

BOB SIMON OF CBS NEWS

BRIAN WILLIAMS’ PROBLEMS

TRAVELING TO CUBA NOW

RECENT POSTS: late ‘14, early ‘15

LATE 2014 posts

The Next President: who has a chance?

Obama Not in France

Police Strike

Wash. Monument

Greg Mort, Painter

Car Hype?

Obama’s Statement

Ben’s Chili Bowl

Cuba Vacation

Cuban Exiles: No

TSA Changes

Street Protests

Rolling Stone Mess

Prosperity Now

Campus Rapes

1 World Trade Center

Who Caused Riots?

Ferguson Updates

Ferguson Live Vid

MARION BARRY DIES

Marion Barry Gone

GOP Plays Nice?

(Some) 2014 posts

SCHOOL SHOOTINGS

DEMOCRATS LOSE

ROCKET EXPLOSION

EBOLA PAGES

GONZALO CAM

Ebola Breaking Pt.

Ebola Panic!

Blood Moon

Kirk Counsins Rises

Personal Data: No!

White House Security

REDKINS NAME

Petty Fines in Ferguson, Mo

Police Stealing

Rick Perry Prays

Book Festival

SPEED CAMERAS

NATIVE AMERICANS?

PHILLY RIOTS

Hamas/Israel

Arrest Ferguson

Police Armies

Police Threat

Mistaken Police

Ferguson, Mo.

Ferguson2

LOWER WAGES

REAL ISSUE IN Missouri

Perry’s Mouth

Robin Williams

Tony Stewart

Israel/Gaza

People in Deep Debt

Ft. Hood Security

Paintball Gun

Ukraine Crash

Robert Teich/wealth

Supermoon 2013

Student Loans

Perry’s Joke

Personal Freedom

Challenge to Democracy

Murrieta Demonstrations

NASA/Arthur

WHY POOR?

CITIZEN’S WEALTH FUND

REAL AMERICA?

NTSB REPORT

Interstate Driving

OBAMA/Iraq

NO AIR TRAVEL

Iraq Plans

Obama’s Fault?

SICKNESS and poverty

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PRACTICALITIES OF VISITING CUBA...NOW AND IN THE FUTURE (scroll down, please)

CNN has been in Cuba for a long time, invited in by Castro to report from the island nation. Here is a link to their advice on things to do down south:

 

 Cuban flag flutters above Revolution Square in Havana, on February 8, 2008.

Insider guide: What to do in Havana

Many Americans have visited Cuba in recent years. In fact, visitors from this country now out number Europeans and Canadians thanks to changes in rules about visiting the island. Many have gone in through Cancun and lines of tourists waiting for flights to Cuba can be seen daily at the airport in Cancun. There have still been restrictions on travel, which presumably will be completely removed once full diplomatic relations are restored.

If you have ever thought about traveling to Cuba, now is the time to get up and go, before massive investment pours in from the States to change many things. For one, you can still see cars from the 1950s bobbing and rolling down streets in Havana. The cars have been cobbled together and kept running for decades by taking functional parts from abandoned cars and putting them on ones that need parts. As soon as Cubans get the money, new American cars are likely to be speeding along the streets and highways (watch out: many Cubans aren’t likely to have much experience in traveling fast and it could be dangerous).

Will there be new high rise hotels and resorts? Cuba has fantastic beaches and very warm Caribbean waters and other nations have been able to invest for years, but the temptation, the pull, to American companies to go south and make money will be strong. In five to ten years, perhaps less, Cuba is likely to be transformed. Now, going there is still a bit like stepping from the 21st century to the 1950s. See it and enjoy it while you can.

ONE OF THE SURPRISING THINGS in Cuba for American visitors is to find that most Cubans like Americans and are pleased to welcome them to their country. The animosity between the two governments doesn’t generally carry over, although there might be some resentment over the long embargo among Cubans. Yet, the friendly ties between Cuba and the States go all the way back to before the Spanish-American war and, of course, include things like baseball, a national passion in Cuba. Despite more than 5o years of negative propaganda about America, the Cuban people seem to genuinely want to be friends on a personal basis with people from this country.

President Obama eluded briefly to the impact visiting Americans could have on Cuba during his remarks to the nation. In fact, thousands of American citizens pouring in daily might have a greater affect on the country than the long embargo. American television, showing a richer, more comfortable and modern life, impacts people around the world. So, too, does personal contact. Cuba is close enough to the States to get American satellite television, if the government authorities in Cuba will allow it. Once full diplomatic relations are established, how can they stop it without resorting to oppressive measures?

Let the games begin.

It’s likely to be months before Americans can travel freely to Cuba. First, the new rules must be published in the Federal Register and time allowed for comments. Then, it is likely to take some time before those rules are put into effect. At first, it won’t be possible for mobs of tourists to go rushing in (any more than the mobs that already go, that is), because there won’t be new facilities to handle them.

You can still travel to Cuba now under the existing rules. For most people, that means joining an organized tour group that involves a cultural/learning type trip, not a pure “beach and beer” vacation that a lot of people think of when they think of the Caribbean. Otherwise, there are special conditions where others are allowed to travel. These include journalists who are regularly employed by a news organization, telecommunications workers seeking contracts in Cuba and other professional groups. If you aren’t in one of those groups or aren’t willing to join an organized tour, you’ll have to wait. (There are a total of 12 groups of people allowed to visit, so check out the US State Department website for more information.)

Going sooner rather than later could have many advantages. Face it, we Americans tend to ruin the places we most want to visit by overwhelming them with too many dollars and too many standardized attractions, cut and made to order for people who don’t really want to leave America at all. (Cancun, anyone?) Cuba now is not what it is likely to be in two years and certainly not in five once big hotels invade and put in the kinds of places American’s visit around the world. So, if you want to go, go sooner, go as sooner as you can, because the Cuba you most want to see is the way Cuba is now. Trust me on that.

Doug Terry, 12.20.14

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