Castro resigns as president and commander and chief

[Tejano]

If anyone's awake, here's some interesting info. He's stepping down and has handed power over to his brother.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7252109.stm

[Beamwalker]

I hope now that he is gone the US govt willl end this retarded $#@!ing embargo.

[BigOrange]

does this mean cuban vacations are now doable?

[Gehrig]

Said this on another thread. Castro "temporarily" turned over power to his brother 18+ months ago and has been seen in public maybe once since then. He's been out of the loop for a long time.

[RPTSAG07]

I'd just like to be able to buy a good Cuban Cigar at a tabacco shop.

[dognduckhorn]

My guess is that things will really not be amenable to change until Fidel is dead and in the ground. It will be interesting to watch the transition. Maybe we can leverage this into restoring relations.

[tx 3 putt]

Cuba will become a top vacation destination once they put some bullets in the Castro brothers.

Gambling, beaches, rum, cigars, women..........

[Xian]

go now while you can!

[Longhorn94]

does anyone have any reason to believe things will change now? i would love to go there. i know it can be done by flying to another country first but it would be so much easier if the restriction was removed.

i hear Cuba is prettier than Hawaii. not sure if its true or not.

[Xian]

ive heard it is much better... family went there through mexico and said it was the most amazing thing ever. The culture is amazing, but will surely change once the embargo is lifted and major US corporations $#@! it all up and make it to Disney like and expensive and not nearly as fun.

[orange_xpress]

Gotta give Castro credit for one thing; He's worn the same outfit for over 183 years. His loyalty to the greens and the hat is amazing. Just once he should take the podium with a "I'm with stupid --->" t-shirt and some cutoffs.

[Longhorn94]

I like to picture Castro in like a tuxedo T-shirt cause it says I wanna be formal but I'm here to party, cause I like to party so I like my Castro to party!

[Ankf00]

we place an embargo on cuba but we sell our soul to china.

great f'ing logic.

[Gehrig]

I'd just like to be able to buy a good Cuban Cigar at a tabacco shop.

And you wont be able to once the embargo gets lifted. Quality is going to suck for a few years until the hype dies down. And where are you going to smoke it? There's no place left that allows you other than you're own backyard and some day that will be illegal too.

[MC Fresh Breath]

ive heard it is much better... family went there through mexico and said it was the most amazing thing ever. The culture is amazing, but will surely change once the embargo is lifted and major US corporations $#@! it all up and make it to Disney like and expensive and not nearly as fun.

nailed. I had been contemplating this trip for a year based off of the factors you mentioned--once it turns into "The Hard Rock Cafe in Havana," it probably won't be nearly as fun.


booking soon....

[PigBellmont]

He's dead Jim!



Fidel has been room temp for some time (actually he's probably a $#@!cicle), this latest is just part of the plan for smooth transfer of power without letting the hammer up off of the proles. Typical two bit latin dictator shtick. Fidel's death will not be announced until after Obama's inagural, so that there will be a US official representative at Fidel's jammination in to the ground to be all weepy and $#@! at the loss of this great man.

[Varsity T]

Rot in hell Fidel

[ldogg53]

brought back some Cuban cigarros from Argentina this weekend... I think I'll go burn one!

[Viper]

does anyone have any reason to believe things will change now? i would love to go there. i know it can be done by flying to another country first but it would be so much easier if the restriction was removed.

i hear Cuba is prettier than Hawaii. not sure if its true or not.

his brother is in control. Nothing will really change until he dies (he's 74 I think). After that, it's anyone's guess.

[William Cannon]

does anyone have any reason to believe things will change now? i would love to go there. i know it can be done by flying to another country first but it would be so much easier if the restriction was removed.

Raul has always been more moderate than Fidel and I would venture to say that his convictions waivered when he had to stand there and watch his brother do something completely stupid (such as the time when Fidel went ape$#@! on the sugarcane and stopped producing everything else). Things will improve for Cuba somewhat since Raul isn't an extreme nutcase like his brother. However, I don't evnvision that much will change for you and me. I just hope that Raul will see clearly how $#@!ed up the country is now that his brother stepped down, but I don't think that will happen until Fidel kicks the bucket. Unfortunately, he's always looked to big brother for approval..

[hornian]

Commander AND Chief?

[jt]

I'd like to get there before everyone else and make some money. Bet that place is just really $#@!ing cool.

[MaximumBarnes]

That place is number one on my list of places to visit. I want to see it before it becomes Americanized which will happen very very quickly.

[Gehrig]

That place is number one on my list of places to visit. I want to see it before it becomes Americanized which will happen very very quickly.

Yup, that's my wish too. I want to see Cuba before there are a $#@! ton of mega hotels on the beaches.

[Beamwalker]

I'd like to get there before everyone else and make some money. Bet that place is just really $#@!ing cool.

European tourism companies are already there bringing somewhat of a free market to that industry. The same ones that do the rest of the hotels/casinos/tourism stuff in the Caribbean. I mean I'm sure when it opens there will be money to be had, but we wont be the first in. And they are learning and adapting now, so US companies will have a harder time taking advantage.

Things over there aren't great, but they are not near as bad as we are led to believe. It got really, really bad starting in 89-91 for them. The USSR was basically subsidizing the entire nation. It worked fine until they ran out of money and then Cuba had to fend for itself. Now people are coming to terms with the new system and things are getting back on track (from what I've read).

[kung_fu_longhorn]

His bodyguard Fabian Escalante went back through his records and counted 638 attempts to kill the Cuban leader.

He just couldn't be killed.

Or maybe the CIA=stormtroopers?
The Link

[William Cannon]

That place is number one on my list of places to visit. I want to see it before it becomes Americanized which will happen very very quickly.

Yup, that's my wish too. I want to see Cuba before there are a $#@! ton of mega hotels on the beaches.

My plan was always to try to buy a series of adjacent tiendas, zapaterias, etc in Havana and replace them with the WC Casino and Resort. However, I'm a few dollars short of realizing this dream.

[89Horn]

My hope is that it returns to what it was when the hotels in Havana were bigger and swankier than any of the rub joints that were put in Vegas.