"Byker" <byker@do~rag.net> wrote in
news:0-CdncmnOYWORFfFnZ2dnUU7-bHNnZ2d@earthlink.com:
> Obama made a big deal about the resumption of U.S. carrier travel
> to Cuba. JetBlue in particular got Obama's accolades. After all,
> when the president of the United States sets the example for Cuba
> tourist travel, showing how it's all tropical music, classic cars,
> Cuban cigars, mojitos, and dancing like Beyoncé out on the Malecón,
> who could resist?
> http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-usa-aviation-idUSKBN0U01XZ201512
> 17
>
> However, JetBlue has cut back its flights "to better match demand."
> http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bz-jetblue-cuts-cuba-capacity-2
> 0170215-story.html
>
> It’s been joined by two other airlines, Silver and Frontier, fleeing
> for their lives like Marielitos. They all said demand isn't what they
> expected:
> http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2017/03/13/s
> ilver-airways-end-all-cuba-service/99131906/
>
> This is a fancy way of saying what's really going on: Cuba is a
> tourist hellhole. The service sucks, the amenities are gross, the
> place is thick with thieves and woman-gropers, the cost is high, and
> the alternatives are out there. In fact, the Caribbean is loaded with
> pleasant, accommodating destinations well worth a tourist's dollar for
> a vacation. Taking a vacation at a communist military-run resort
> really falls more into the Gulag category.
>
> How is this for tourist hell? Observers noticed Cuban customs
> officials rummaging through tourist luggage and taking what they
> wanted. When the tourists complained, they were thrown in jail:
> http://www.capitolhillcubans.com/2016/10/exhibit-how-obamas-cuba-flight
> s.html
>
> In fact, the place is a security risk because no professional or U.S.
> or U.S.-standard officials are involved. Mangy street dogs are what
> pass for security dogs in Havana:
> http://www.capitolhillcubans.com/2016/10/wapo-security-risk-at-cubas-ai
> rports.html
>
> You can expect cockroaches in your breakfast cereal and tourist
> bulletin boards say bring your own toilet paper:
> https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147273-d550565-r200592377-
> Club_Amigo_Carisol_Los_Corales-Santiago_de_Cuba_Santiago_de_Cuba_Provin
> ce_Cuba.html
>
> Cuba's officials aren't even interested in making their foreign
> investors happy. American businesses have but one purpose, according
> to reports: to serve through their presence in Havana as bait to
> attract other sucker businesses, the better to rob them all.:
> http://www.capitolhillcubans.com/2016/11/us-companies-see-grim-outlook-
> in-cuba.html
Cuba is a tourist hellhole, to be sure.
So are Togo and Ghana and Liberia and
Guyana and Suriname and whole raft of places.
But that is beside the point. The embargo
against Cuba because it was communist makes
no sense when the US openly trades with
communist China and communist Vietnam, neither
of which have such archaic "embargoes" on them.
Obama was right, lift the futile embargo
and let the Americans decide for themselves
which countries they want to visit. In the
meantime you are now free to enjoy Cuban rum
and Cuban cigars without breaking the law.
Ain't freedom grand?
|
|