Castro's 'miracle' cures the poor of blindness

[jose]

The rich tourists whose luxury yachts once crowded the idyllic Marina Hemingway complex on the outskirts of the Cuban capital are shocked to find all Havana's hotel rooms fully booked until mid-2006. More than a dozen hotels have been temporarily closed to tourists to make way for a different kind of visitor. Most of them arrive nearly blind; but all will be able to see perfectly before they leave.

A remarkable humanitarian programme is under way here, which aims to restore the sight of six million people through free eye surgery. Launched in July by the 79-year-old Cuban President, Fidel Castro, and Venezuela's Socialist leader, President Hugo Chavez, Operation Miracle has brought daily planeloads of the poor from across Latin America and the Caribbean to Havana for surgery. Cuba provides the medical skills, Venezuela the petro-dollars.

People suffering from cataracts and other eye conditions that can be quickly remedied are candidates.

Cuba's comprehensive, free healthcare system has a ratio of one doctor for every 170 Cubans
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/...icle333837.ece
should Americans be allowed to travel to Cuba if they have eye problems?
currently the US Gov. does not allow its citizens to visit cuba

[Samildanach]

Does not allow? or does not advise travel to Cuba?

If the government is getting to the point where it can forbid you to travel then you are in serious trouble.

[Nono]

Is it true that the US still forbids travel to Cuba? I hope not.

Anyway, speaking of blindness, this aspect of Cuba is one the US government and media simply don't wish to see. For them you're much better off starving and sick in a Latin American country run by a jackbbooted military elite -- just so long as your government doesn't do anything diabolical like (shudder) nationalizing ill-got wealth. Good Heavens!

[Jimmy the Pro]

We'll see how this whole thing goes. Smooth Transaction with no side-effects? Maybe possible. Plus, if this does work out it could catch on in other countries. Something very worth while.

Should people from the U.S be allowed to travel to Cuba for cures? Hello, if it is such a big deal then why don't we (in small amounts) start to try it out. This depending if what Cuba and Venezuela do is sucessful of course.

[bishop]

US citizens can't travel to cuba.. but, US citizens can travel to canada and then take a canadian flight to cuba.

[jose]

Clarification after reading further it seems
US law does not prohibit US citizens from visiting Cuba. However, tourism is effectively banned by the Trading With the Enemy Act, which prohibits US citizens from spending money there.

Purchases of services related to travel, such as nonemergency medical services, are prohibited
for more info see http://www.forcuba.com/f_amer.htm

[Protostar]

Quote by: bishop US citizens can't travel to cuba.. but, US citizens can travel to canada and then take a canadian flight to cuba.

But even if you did that, wouldn't the law mentioned above still prohibit you from spending money there? It's such nonsense. There is no reason for the embargo of Cuba. Doesn't hurt Castro one bit, but only the Cuban people. And it just makes the US look petty (not that Bush cares how the world views the US). :rolleyes:

[Samildanach]

Clarification after reading further it seems US law does not prohibit US citizens from visiting Cuba. However, tourism is effectively banned by the Trading With the Enemy Act, which prohibits US citizens from spending money there. Purchases of services related to travel, such as nonemergency medical services, are prohibited for more info see http://www.forcuba.com/f_amer.htm

I can't believe its against the law. Thats overstepping the mark as far as I am concerned. No one anywhere tells me where I can and cannot travel outside my own country or what I spend the fruits of my labours ie MY hard earned money on.
Trading with the enemy act, my ass, if you were actively at war with them then I can see the reason for it however the US is not AFAIK officially at war with Cuba.

[bishop]

Quote by: Protostar But even if you did that, wouldn't the law mentioned above still prohibit you from spending money there? It's such nonsense. There is no reason for the embargo of Cuba. Doesn't hurt Castro one bit, but only the Cuban people. And it just makes the US look petty (not that Bush cares how the world views the US). :rolleyes:

unless you do credit card purchases, big brother won't know that you're spending money in cuba it you're using cash. also, i think you can just as easily convert usd to canadian dollars and buy a couple traveller's checks...

and yeah.. it definitely does make us look petty. some of our policies have no rhyme or reason whatsoever - despite what some of the morons might suggest.

[Keith Hamburger]

Quote by: bishop unless you do credit card purchases, big brother won't know that you're spending money in cuba it you're using cash. also, i think you can just as easily convert usd to canadian dollars and buy a couple traveller's checks... and yeah.. it definitely does make us look petty. some of our policies have no rhyme or reason whatsoever - despite what some of the morons might suggest.

Actually, the assumption is that, if you travel to Cuba, you have spent money. You will be treated accordingly on your return. You cannot travel through a third country to get there, if the State Department finds out you have been to Cuba, you will be treated accordingly. You cannot travel on your own to Cuba by boat or any other means, if the government finds out you have made ANY stops in Cuba, you will be treated accordingly.

Treated accordingly means fines of tens of thousands of dollars. It used to be that "fully hosted" travel was allowed but, under the Bush administration, it is being assumed that there is no such thing. If you travel in any way to Cuba, without an almost impossible to get federal "license", you will be treated accordingly.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p.../cis_1097.html

ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS/TRAVEL TRANSACTION LIMITATIONS : The Cuban Assets Control Regulations of the U.S. Treasury Department require that persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction be licensed to engage in any transaction related to travel to, from, and within Cuba. Transactions related to tourist travel are not licensable. This restriction includes tourist travel to Cuba from or through a third country such as Mexico or Canada. U.S. law enforcement authorities have increased enforcement of these regulations at U.S. airports and pre-clearance facilities in third countries. Travelers who fail to comply with Department of Treasury regulations will face civil penalties and criminal prosecution upon return to the United States.

...

Unless otherwise exempted or authorized, any person subject to U.S. jurisdiction who engages in any travel-related transaction in Cuba violates the regulations. Failure to comply with Department of Treasury regulations may result in civil penalties and criminal prosecution upon return to the United States.

Plus, you are not able to use a US issued credit card in Cuba. Transactions from Cuba will not be processed by US credit card companies.

Keith

[bishop]

huh... didn't know that bush made those changes..

pretty interesting though, because just a couple years ago, i remember seeing all sorts of ads for vacationing in cuba. (and our relations with cuba were warming up a bit.)

our policies with cuba are just retarded.. period.

and here's one of our favorite hypocrites enjoying a cuban fatty..

[freecancat]

Bush is counting on public ignorance so don't expect the networks to report on what's happening until after the fact. The interent enables us to find out for oursleves if we want.

It was not until 1997 when Pope John Paul announced his historic trip to Cuba that Washington finally lifted its travel restrictions on journalists going there, so no wonder the public knew nothing but propaganda.

As a result of the Pope’s visit to Cuba and plea to lift the embargo, in 2000 Congress eased the restrictions to allow food and medicine and people-to-people contact to get through the blockade.

Since then, hundreds of US Senators and House Reps and Governors and legislators and farmers from over 40 states have gone to Havana and met with Castro and signed over a $billion in agricultural deals.

For 4 years in a row Congress voted to lift the travel ban but the language undemocratically disappears before it gets to Bush’s desk since he says he’ll veto it anyway.

Bush has tightened the trade and travel restrictions instead. He has also set up a $59 million Commission for regime change in Cuba headed by Condoleeza Rice.

No wonder he’s trying to prevent the Cubans from playing in the World Baseball Classic when he’s counting on the same ignorant hysteria that enabled passage of the Helms-Burton Act that tightened the embargo 10 years ago this March.

Here’s a few links to information that Bush and his propagandists are depending on the public to know nothing about:

http://news.google.ca/news?hl=en&ned...nG=Search+News

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/

http://www.lawg.org/countries/cuba/intro.htm

http://ciponline.org/cuba/index.htm

Hopefully enough Americans have learned the lessons of basing foreign policy on the lies and bullshit of exiles and aren’t about to allow the same mistake to be made again.

[G. Adams]

Quote by: bishop huh... didn't know that bush made those changes.. pretty interesting though, because just a couple years ago, i remember seeing all sorts of ads for vacationing in cuba. (and our relations with cuba were warming up a bit.) our policies with cuba are just retarded.. period. and here's one of our favorite hypocrites enjoying a cuban fatty..

That's not a Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey. The badge is different for the Cuban, I know I've smoked one. They're good, btw. A lot of people who left cuba established companies with the same names, notably Cohiba (red dotted being the none-Cuban).

[Nono]

Anyway, it's so easy to manipulate photos these days -- remember the disgraceful anti-Kerry fakery?

[brien]

Quote by: jose The rich tourists whose luxury yachts once crowded the idyllic Marina Hemingway complex on the outskirts of the Cuban capital are shocked to find all Havana's hotel rooms fully booked until mid-2006. More than a dozen hotels have been temporarily closed to tourists to make way for a different kind of visitor. Most of them arrive nearly blind; but all will be able to see perfectly before they leave. A remarkable humanitarian programme is under way here, which aims to restore the sight of six million people through free eye surgery. Launched in July by the 79-year-old Cuban President, Fidel Castro, and Venezuela's Socialist leader, President Hugo Chavez, Operation Miracle has brought daily planeloads of the poor from across Latin America and the Caribbean to Havana for surgery. Cuba provides the medical skills, Venezuela the petro-dollars. People suffering from cataracts and other eye conditions that can be quickly remedied are candidates. Cuba's comprehensive, free healthcare system has a ratio of one doctor for every 170 Cubans http://news.independent.co.uk/world/...icle333837.ece should Americans be allowed to travel to Cuba if they have eye problems? currently the US Gov. does not allow its citizens to visit cuba

Fidel, and Cuba, get a bad rap from every US angle I have ever seen. Que lastima. Since Kennedy and the Cuban Missle Crisis, of which I remember the stark fear of being on the brink of nuclear war, the US can't get past the success of Cuba. One doesn't know the fear of impending nuclear war, and its threatened annihilation, unless they lived through that one. It is high time to let it go, but not forget.

All trade and travel barriers should be lifted and relations normalized with Cuba immediately. It is a national shame it has gone on this long.

[bishop]

Quote by: G. Adams That's not a Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey. The badge is different for the Cuban, I know I've smoked one. They're good, btw. A lot of people who left cuba established companies with the same names, notably Cohiba (red dotted being the none-Cuban).

i couldn't find anything on snopes to confirm your claim.

but i dug around and found what i think is the name of this particular cigar is: "hoyo de monterrey particulares".. apparently, it's a special edition cigar.

http://www.topcubans.com/cuban-cigar...mitada,280.htm
http://www.cigars-review.org/Hoyo-de...es-LE-2001.htm


and if it isn't that one, then it could be one of these:

http://www.tobaccoonline.co.uk/product-info.asp?pid=48
http://www.tobaccoonline.co.uk/product-info.asp?pid=47


dunno where these are made though.. you're probably right that they weren't made in cuba - or else i'm sure we would've heard more about this on the news.. kind of ironic, even if it's symbolic though.

[G. Adams]

Quote by: bishop i couldn't find anything on snopes to confirm your claim. but i dug around and found what i think is the name of this particular cigar is: "hoyo de monterrey particulares".. apparently, it's a special edition cigar. http://www.topcubans.com/cuban-cigar...mitada,280.htm http://www.cigars-review.org/Hoyo-de...es-LE-2001.htm and if it isn't that one, then it could be one of these: http://www.tobaccoonline.co.uk/product-info.asp?pid=48 http://www.tobaccoonline.co.uk/product-info.asp?pid=47 dunno where these are made though.. you're probably right that they weren't made in cuba - or else i'm sure we would've heard more about this on the news.. kind of ironic, even if it's symbolic though.

Hmm, if it's a special edition they do sometimes use a unique band, but not often. I'll take a look around.

[G. Adams]

Quote by: bishop i couldn't find anything on snopes to confirm your claim. but i dug around and found what i think is the name of this particular cigar is: "hoyo de monterrey particulares".. apparently, it's a special edition cigar. http://www.topcubans.com/cuban-cigar...mitada,280.htm http://www.cigars-review.org/Hoyo-de...es-LE-2001.htm and if it isn't that one, then it could be one of these: http://www.tobaccoonline.co.uk/product-info.asp?pid=48 http://www.tobaccoonline.co.uk/product-info.asp?pid=47 dunno where these are made though.. you're probably right that they weren't made in cuba - or else i'm sure we would've heard more about this on the news.. kind of ironic, even if it's symbolic though.

Damn, your right. I admit I was wrong. Damn this pride is chewey.

It's a 2001SE. Eesh, not only is he smoking Cuban he's paying top dollar for it.