Cuba rolls out red carpet for historic Obama trip despite embargo [Archive]

Gerald

03-20-16, 12:30 PM

President Barack Obama arrives in Cuba on Sunday for a historic visit, venturing into what was once enemy territory where a Communist government that vilified the United States for decades has prepared a red-carpet welcome.

The three-day trip, the first by a U.S. president in 88 years, was unthinkable until Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro agreed in December 2014 to end an estrangement that began when Cuba's revolution ousted a pro-American government in 1959.

Plainclothes police have blanketed the capital with security while public works crews have busily laid down asphalt in a city where drivers joke they must navigate "potholes with streets.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cuba-idUSKCN0WM04H

Always interesting to visit the old communist countries.

Note: Sun Mar 20, 2016 11:56am EDT

Torplexed

03-20-16, 12:49 PM

Always interesting to visit the old communist countries.

Do it quick before the Starbucks start to pop up on every corner.

Commander Wallace

03-20-16, 01:19 PM

It is a historic occasion. One benefit is now great Cuban cigars will be available.
:)

Rockstar

03-20-16, 02:08 PM

It is a historic occasion. One benefit is now great Cuban cigars will be available.
:)

Cuban cigars were always available, just had to know where to look on Calle Ocho ;). Anyway, in my opinion Central American cigars are a fine sophisticated smoke and have far surpassed the once quality Cuban stick long ago.

Plus unless you knew the intricancies of a Cuban cigar. You were probably smoking one of the many make fakes especially Cohibas which flooded the market.

Bubblehead1980

03-20-16, 05:44 PM

Disgusting a sitting US President would visit a communist dictatorship. Just another ridiculous episode for Barry O. However, he will feel right at home among his fellow travelers.

u crank

03-20-16, 06:01 PM

Rockstar

03-20-16, 06:11 PM

I've been in Cuban waters on business but was chased out by a Osa II missle boat. Damn thing kept on us even in International waters until that is when two armed U.S. Navy helicopters showed up on scene. Thing tucked tail and ran. I have video of that somewhere should see if I can digitize it.

Anyway I for one would love to head to Havana as a welcomed tourist this time. Heck, Id even buy 'Barry O' a beer!

Oberon

03-20-16, 06:11 PM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Nixon_Mao_1972-02-29.png

http://video.foxnews.com/thumbnails/i/121411/0/0/121411_dcl_reagan_640.jpg

Thanks Obama! :nope:

u crank

03-20-16, 06:22 PM

Rockstar

03-20-16, 06:22 PM

Thanks Obama! :nope:

:har::woot:

Rockstar

03-20-16, 06:27 PM

I was in Cuba two years ago. Canadians have been vacationing there for years. Nice place, nice people. I was in Jamaica last year same time as Obama was. I think he's following me around.:O:

American's have always been allowed to travel and vacation in Cuba. Its just that it was made to be such pain in the butt to make travel arrangments, most never bothered. We frequently ran across U.S. travelers on boats coming back from Cuba which was not against any U.S. law. What was against the law was if they had any merchandise purchased in Cuba aboard. Then we dropped the hammer on'em pretty hard.

And yes, they are nice people. I even met one of Cuba's boxing champs. He was on an inner tube trying to make it to the U.S. Towering powerful man when I first looked upon him I thought oh crap. But he just smiled and gave me a hug he was so happy to be picked up by us.

August

03-20-16, 09:13 PM

Rockstar

03-20-16, 09:25 PM

Richard Nixon meets with Red Chinas Communist Leader Mao Zedong in Beijing, February 21, 1972. Americans rejoice! All hail diplomacey and Richard Nixon.

Ronald Reagan meets the source of all evil in the world. USSR's Communist Leader Mikail Gorbachev, October 11, 1986. Americans rejoice! All hail diplomacey and Ronald Reagan.

Barrack Obama meets the last of the old guard, Cuba's Communist Leader Raul Castro, March 21, 2016. Seen today by a few as a stupid, silly, jesture by a closet mooslim who has been bent on destroying the constitution, murica, mom and apple pie.

em2nought

03-21-16, 12:40 AM

Richard Nixon meets with Red Chinas Communist Leader Mao Zedong in Beijing, February 21, 1972. Americans rejoice! All hail diplomacey and Richard Nixon.

...and it's turned out so well for us. :har:

Cybermat47

03-21-16, 01:16 AM

Disgusting a sitting US President would visit a communist dictatorship. Just another ridiculous episode for Barry O. However, he will feel right at home among his fellow travelers.

Damn US Presidents co-operating with Commies, FDR would be disgusted!

http://today.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/roosevelt_stalin.jpg

razark

03-21-16, 01:51 AM

Damn US Presidents co-operating with Commies, FDR would be disgusted!

But FDR was one of them damn libruls. Everyone knows that they're just the same as those commies, anyway. You'd never see Saint Raygun paling around with any commies!

Jimbuna

03-21-16, 05:57 AM

Damn US Presidents co-operating with Commies, FDR would be disgusted!

http://today.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/roosevelt_stalin.jpg

Yep, all the way back to Tehran in 1943 and they met again at Yalta in 1945.

Bilge_Rat

03-21-16, 06:41 AM

Reagan also visited Red China in the spring of 1984:

http://dantomozei.ro/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/5-Nancy-Reagan-accompanied-by-then-President-Ronald-Reagan-visited-the-Great-Wall-on-April-1984.jpg

Mr Quatro

03-21-16, 07:00 AM

It is no secret that President Obama wants to close the Guantanamo naval base, which is on his bucket list.
This is his big chance to destroy any trust we had in this lame duck president.

I hope he has a hole in his bucket :woot:

http://news.yahoo.com/us-cuba-thaw-yet-reach-guantanamo-134726930.html

Washington has had a permanent lease on the territory since 1903, over vehement protests from Havana, which wants the 120 square kilometers (45 square miles) back.

Tchocky

03-21-16, 07:13 AM

It's the Guantanamo detention centre he wants to close - not the full base.

Catfish

03-21-16, 07:16 AM

It is no secret that President Obama wants to close the Guantanamo naval base, which is on his bucket list.
This is his big chance to destroy any trust we had in this lame duck president. ...

:06:
Only that Obama was elected by the majority, because he had said he intended to close Guantanamo camp. he broke his promise, so you should be pleased.

And closing Guantanamo camp has not much to do with giving up the naval base.

edit: Tschocky beat me to it..

Mr Quatro

03-21-16, 07:38 AM

It's the Guantanamo detention centre he wants to close - not the full base.

:06:
Only that Obama was elected by the majority, because he had said he intended to close Guantanamo camp. he broke his promise, so you should be pleased.

And closing Guantanamo camp has not much to do with giving up the naval base.

edit: Tschocky beat me to it..

You are both half right ...

Ted Cruz brought up this fear: "I fear that by the end of this year, President Obama plans to give the Guantanamo Navy base back to Cuba."

Obama countered with: No, say senior Obama administration officials — the president's proposal covers only the detention center housed on Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. The administration does not want to return the base itself to Cuba.

another plan is to turn the base into a Marine park with a green area allowing the public to enter in and enjoy it's many aquatic features.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160317145903.htm

Following President Obama's plans to close the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, a conservation biologist and a professor of law are proposing to transform the naval base into a marine research center and international peace park.

That would in effect close the US Naval base to be used by the military.

but the US Navy and the US Congress will have the last say: Then-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert described the importance of the base when he visited in 2014.

"Naval Station Guantanamo Bay is going to be around for a long time," Greenert said. "Often, people think that if the [detention center] leaves then the naval station will be shut down, but that is not the case."

The prisoners there have been a real thorn in Obama's side ... if these prisoners were kept any where else they could have visitors from their brothers and sisters that support their causes.

Why would a man with two muslim fathers care?

STEED

03-21-16, 08:01 AM

Human rights will be left off the agenda as the norm. :rolleyes:

AVGWarhawk

03-21-16, 09:12 AM

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cuba-idUSKCN0WM04H

Always interesting to visit the old communist countries.

Note: Sun Mar 20, 2016 11:56am EDT

Picked up from the airport in the presidential limo:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4108/5054965138_5eeaf2a5b9_z.jpg

Gerald

03-21-16, 09:45 AM

^:haha:

Betonov

03-21-16, 10:15 AM

Am I too late for the party ??

http://www.jutarnji.hr/multimedia/archive/00459/TITO_kennedy_459403S1.jpg

http://www.corbisimages.com/images/Corbis-U1720245.jpg?size=67&uid=0e1d5a4c-f42a-4dc5-a68a-5e00c94648cc

http://www.znanje.org/i/i29/09iv03/09iv0301/Josip_Broz_Tito_and_President_Jimmy_Carter.jpg

August

03-21-16, 01:52 PM

What I want to know is how the Cubans can keep the bodies of those old cars from rusting away in that sea air and high humidity.

Betonov

03-21-16, 02:45 PM

What I want to know is how the Cubans can keep the bodies of those old cars from rusting away in that sea air and high humidity.

Paint is cheap. Elbow grease is free.
Plus that steel is old and thick, easier to weld than modern paperthin sheets.

u crank

03-21-16, 05:40 PM

Cuban taxis in Cayo Coco in 2014.

http://i.imgur.com/23QYCdO.jpg?2

http://i.imgur.com/LuSCt6k.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/vTlW2HC.jpg?2

We went for a ride in one. They are all converted to diesel. The only instrument in the dash that worked was the digital radio just recently installed. The driver was a hoot. We seem to be going pretty fast and I asked him what the speed limit was. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. :yep:

Onkel Neal

03-21-16, 06:40 PM

Disgusting a sitting US President would visit a communist dictatorship. Just another ridiculous episode for Barry O. However, he will feel right at home among his fellow travelers.

No, I disagree. I think the whole purpose is to bring the light of freedom to the Cuban people. How long can the Castro dictators keep the people down once they are exposed to a better life?

Sidenote: I hate it when the media calls Raul Castro "President". :stare:

Platapus

03-21-16, 09:52 PM

Man Bubblehead. I bet you feel pretty embarrassed at this.

You should have just stuck with the basics and made you post simple

"I dislike Obama". It would have made you look a little less foolish.

Onkel Neal

03-22-16, 07:04 AM

Man Bubblehead. I bet you feel pretty embarrassed at this.

You should have just stuck with the basics and made you post simple

"I dislike Obama". It would have made you look a little less foolish.

Easy on the direct personal attacks, just explain how his post is irrelevant or erroneous. :yep:

Gerald

03-22-16, 11:37 AM

Update link.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cuba-idUSKCN0WO0EA

Note: Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:40am EDT

Bubblehead1980

03-24-16, 01:04 AM

LOL some of my enemies on here are so predictable. I am well aware others have visited communist countries during the Cold War etc. However, there is absolutely no reason for this visit to Cuba as Cold War is over . Once Castros die off, perhaps then. A Presidential visit legitimizes these horrible people and their sick ideology. A picture in front of Che? Really? Obama looked quite comfortable among his fellow travelers.

Bubblehead1980

03-24-16, 01:05 AM

Man Bubblehead. I bet you feel pretty embarrassed at this.

You should have just stuck with the basics and made you post simple

"I dislike Obama". It would have made you look a little less foolish.

See my response above there pal.Definitely don't feel foolish, it's an entirely different situation than when others visited with Stalin, Mao etc.

Betonov

03-24-16, 04:43 AM

it's an entirely different situation than when others visited with Stalin, Mao etc.

Yeah, those two killed millions, Castro family thousands.

Catfish

03-24-16, 04:55 AM

Yeah, those two killed millions, Castro family thousands.

The US used Cuba as a drug transfer site, exploted its citzens back to slavery times, and until Castro it has been the whorehouse of the Navy. The real Rum and Coca-Cola: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-CE4xYIyng
Pretty understandable they don't like Castro and want it back :03:
As for Guantanamo http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/09/cia-torture-methods-waterboarding-sleep-deprivation look away, nothing else to see here than you already know from Abu Ghraib https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_torture_and_prisoner_abuse

Oberon

03-24-16, 06:20 AM

Yeah, but it's different when Obama does it, it's more ebil! :yep:

Cybermat47

03-24-16, 07:28 AM

I am well aware others have visited communist countries during the Cold War etc. However, there is absolutely no reason for this visit to Cuba as Cold War is over .

Oh boy, look at all this stuff going on that's completely different to the Cold War.

http://www.newyorker.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/north-korea-missiles.jpg
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5eFVEN7Bjkg/maxresdefault.jpg
https://jasonkim29.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/8.jpg
https://static-secure.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/1/8/1357663486270/China-Japan-tensions-008.jpg
http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/3970560-3x2-700x467.jpg
http://img.news.sina.com/china/p/2012/0514/U45P5029T2D467577F24DT20120515090202.jpg

Yep, the Cold War is history. There's been absolutely no tensions between America, her allies, and Communist countries.

Mr Quatro

03-24-16, 07:31 AM

Bubblehead1980

03-24-16, 02:48 PM

Can we safely assume that with this visit to Cuba by the sitting President of the United States that Castro had nothing to do with the chain of command to assassinate President John F. Kennedy back in November 1963?

I assume President Obama has at his disposal all of the top secret information to any smoking gun that the public does not have.

Mostly, I 've never felt it was Castro for most part, but our government.Kennedy was taking on the establishment of his day.Fired Dulles, opposed powerful Generals such as Lemay, was not for escalating Vietnam War and not friendly to the banking cartel known as the Federal Reserve.

Bubblehead1980

03-24-16, 02:52 PM

Yeah, those two killed millions, Castro family thousands.

Made strategic sense for Nixon to visit Red China when he did, since Moscow and Mao were not on best terms then.Nixon exploited that and while I regret it has lead to China becoming a world power when it should have been left to rot, Nixon was doing what made sense at time.

Much as I despise FDR, his wartime leadership was great and in the context of WW 2, had to cooperate to defeat Germany.

Cold War as it was is over. Cuba has been left to rot and while I don't oppose trying to establish relations in some ways while Castros are on way out.A Presidential visit is uncalled for but Obama is happy with, being with his fellow travelers.

vienna

03-24-16, 03:21 PM

Mostly, I 've never felt it was Castro for most part, but our government.Kennedy was taking on the establishment of his day.Fired Dulles, opposed powerful Generals such as Lemay, was not for escalating Vietnam War and not friendly to the banking cartel known as the Federal Reserve.

Add to the above regarding Cuba: the loss of a revenue source for a lot of US Big Businesses (hotels, casinos, etc.), the loss of major revenue for organized crime (Mafia) from various criminal enterprises carried out in Cuba, the loss of the CIA's Latin American & Caribbean HQ and listening stations, the loss of off-shore money caches for some of the US wealthiest individuals...

The list of potential suspects or grouping of suspects is ever large; I somehow don't really think assassinating JFK was a very large priority, if at all, for Castro. The downside of any such action would have been so large and catastrophic to Cuba and its USSR handlers as to be a very sufficient deterrent. All Castro really had to do was to wait out the 1964 elections, see if JFK won or lost; if JFK won, then all he had to do was wait out his 2nd term and then deal with the next President; if JFK lost, then Castro would just have to deal with the new POTUS. So, basically, Castro really had to do nothing; actually doing anything proactively would have been counter-intuitive and counterproductive...

As with any of these sort of 'conspiracy' posits, they tend to fall apart when either logic is applied or the question of logistics is considered...

<O>

August

03-24-16, 08:08 PM

Mr Quatro

03-24-16, 10:24 PM

The list of potential suspects or grouping of suspects is ever large; I somehow don't really think assassinating JFK was a very large priority, if at all, for Castro. The downside of any such action would have been so large and catastrophic to Cuba and its USSR handlers as to be a very sufficient deterrent. All Castro really had to do was to wait out the 1964 elections, see if JFK won or lost; if JFK won, then all he had to do was wait out his 2nd term and then deal with the next President; if JFK lost, then Castro would just have to deal with the new POTUS. So, basically, Castro really had to do nothing; actually doing anything proactively would have been counter-intuitive and counterproductive...

As with any of these sort of 'conspiracy' posits, they tend to fall apart when either logic is applied or the question of logistics is considered...

<O>

I'm glad that the Cuban/Russian connection was never firmly established with JFK and the US Navy standing strong against Russian missiles being supplied to Cuba before November 1963 :hmmm::yep::hmm2: