The flag will be raised today at the embassy. One step closer down the journey.

http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-havana-b...035930955.html
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My life is now complete.:-)
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I really, really, really want to visit Cuba. Lift the dang embargo already.

We do business with freaking China... why not Cuba?
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Dan,
It will be awesome.
We can all then visit Joanne Chesimard and have a cigar together.

On that note, running off to my cruise before I get banned.
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I suppose this is something, but it doesn't seem to do anything at all for the people in Cuba. They already have a ton of tourism, it's not like all of a sudden the flood gates are going to open for the lower classes.
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Hell, I feel sorry for all those guys on Cuban Chrome. If nothing else comes of it, maybe all those shade tree mechanics are able to be after-market parts for their cars.
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Would be nice to see some of the old parts of Havana in person, instead of in pictures. Maybe someday... From Canadians whom I've talked to who've been there, it's really nice, and not very expensive at all for a Caribbean destination
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Meh
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Because China didn't nationalize (steal) billions of dollars worth of U.S. businesses and property; Cuba did.
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Well, not yet though they've certainly bought a lot of debt that will come due one day.....

And by the way it's really not terribly difficult to travel to Cuba for anyone under an OFAC general license, especially now.

Glad to answer any questions on this as I've researched it fairly extensively.
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Buying debt and nationalizing American banks and businesses are two very different things. The U.S. government issues bonds for people and entities to buy, legally. Nationalization is just theft. It's the communist way: steal from those who produce to pay those who don't in order to maintain dictatorial power. While China is communist too, they're not Stalinists; they want to engage with the world and conduct business by the rules. Capitalism, on the other hand, is the only moral economic system because it rewards effort, punishes sloth and demands that people conduct business voluntarily, as only a free people can.
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Along this front I will just say that's not always the case.
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The thing that has always puzzled me is we had an embargo with Cuba and yet we continued to operate a Naval base on Cuba at Guantanamo. Now I'm all for it, but I always thought that was kind of funny.
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Politics aside, it's a wonderful country to visit. The people are fantastic, the cigars excellent.
The food is pretty ordinary, but you can't have it all.

It used to be cheap to visit, now gradually C.U.C's are buying you less.

Go, enjoy. It's brilliant.
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Actually, the Chinese did, in 1949...what finally opened the gates was that they agreed to pay a percentage (around 50% or so?) of the value from that time.
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Originally Posted by jledou:
Along this front I will just say that's not always the case.

It's not always the case with Europe, either.

Well, there ya go; they offered to make good, at least partially, while the Cuban "government" continues in their attempts to extort us further. At least the ChiComs made better effort along those lines than most debtors in U.S. bankruptcy court. Of course they had to, communism as an economic system doesn't work; you eventually run out of people who can pay for everything because there is no incentive for people to produce and achieve. All communism is evil; it's the Industrial Age's version of feudalism.
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True point though I was suggesting that one day it might happen.
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Perhaps, but as I understand it, Britain owns more of us than the Chinese. When the time comes, I'm sure that the debt will be redeemed according to our rules so I'm not too worried.
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The point above was not about the debt but rather whether nationalization ever happens after the US heavily invests and thousands of companies sets up shop over there, who knows?
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According to your post, quoted above, it was; but let 'em try it. The U.S. will just freeze their assets, like we did the Cubans and Iranians and compensate the owners of the nationalized property from that. They have much, much more to lose than we do, and they know this.
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