The senate voted to lift the travel ban for americans to Cuba.

http://msnbc.com/news/984224.asp?0sl=-12&cp1=1

WOW...WOW...WOW;

This will become a knock down drag out fight

Yup, here's another site, though I'm sure there are plenty.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=ac8txuKWsY1A&refer=latin_america

59 votes in favor -- that's plenty, but not enough to override Bush's veto, if that's what it comes to. I imagine that various businesses want to increase their chances of influencing post-Castro Cuba, and that is why the Senate is finally defying Bush.

Does anybody think that "the crackdown" in Cuba is related/unrelated to these developments?

I think Bush is definetly trying to curry favor with the Cubans in Florida.

The sanctions have not gotten rid of Castro and they never will.

Castro stays in power because he belives in what he is doing and strong convictions will beat poor foregion policy everytime.

The rest of the USA need to be heard on this subject, not just Florida.

They said the hotels will be overcrowded in Cuba.

Max I think you are right. If Bush wins Florida and with Ahnold supporting him in California... plus of course he'll win Texas... I cannot imagine four more years... the dollar will drop further and unemployment will rise further, the environment and air quality will be screwed by big business and USA will be behind Europe and Asia. No more stong US$ to go traveling.

I'm glad I went when I did...I could foresee this happening. Now the place will be covered with Starbuck's and McDonalds and no working girls...yaaawn.

Max,

I'm a bush fan, but not a "George" bush supporter. That said, I think you misunderstood. The House and Senate voted to eliminate the travel restrictions currently in place, and Bush said he will veto, he wants to maintain the status quo. In fact, he has put pressure on to increase efforts to punish people who violate the restrictions. I don't see how that could earn him favor with the Cuban immigrants that can't travel to see their relatives. Personally, I want to get there before they build a bridge, and it becomes a county in Fla.

(Message edited by EZEamante on October 23, 2003)

Dubya is currying favor with the neo-conservatives and the militant cuban expatriots. The fact that the economy is in the toilet, the iraqi's will get more health care from this administration than the elderly will in Florida, and Fidel is still there thumbing his nose at the US has the republicans worried.

Florida, remember, barely went to Bush, some backlash from the elian gonzales affair probably cost gore some votes, but all the hanky-panky that went on there with the ballots has mobilized the Democratic Party like nothing ever has.

Jeb Bush as well as GW will be on the rubber-chicken tour when their current terms of office end.
People I know doen there (the're Republicans too) cannot wait to vote Bush out-of-office in 2004.

Think of it, Fidel overthrew the corrupt US supported Bautista Government in the late 50's during the Eisenhower administration. He has outlived Ike, JFK, LBJ, and Nixon. He has stayed in power even though Ford, Carter, Reagan and Clinton and Bush I are long since gone and retired.

My bet he will be in "El presidente" when Bush is gone too.

The embargo, quaratine, enforced isolation the US has imposed on Cuba has not only failed miserably, it has probably strengthend his grasp of the country.

The Iron Curtain fell as a direct result of "glasnost" or "openess" that Gorbachev instituted in the late 80's. For the first time the ordinary citizens in these countries were exposed to the West its culture, values and freedom, and in a short time, those who put up with a communist style dictatorship longer than Castro's didn't wan't to any longer. The genuine changes to a country came from within, and not through a conquering army. It's something that Kennedy learned from the bay-of-pigs, Nixon and LBJ learned from the war in Vietnam and Bush will learn from Iraq.

Keeping US tourists and money out of cuba or having occupation troops in a country do less to advertise freedom than the free exchange of ideas and communication this country was founded on. Someday even our Fearless Leader will get it.

OG

Eze-many Cuban Americans are free to travel back and forth to visit relatives and many do just that. You can see them at the airports with bags full of clothing and other necessities. Some travel on cuban passports.

The anti Castro element in S. Fl. is all against anyone from anywhere traveling to the island so the money flow will dry up and additional pressures will come to bear on Fidel. Many of these same people send their families money (max I think is $100 per month) on a monthly basis just to survive??

If they lift the travel ban, I too fear the island will become overrun with tourists, prices will skyrocket and the place will loose a lot of it's charm and ambiance.

This will be an interesting development to watch