http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100908/ap_on_re_us/cb_cuba_fidel_castro "The state controls well over 90 percent of the economy, paying workers salaries of about $20 a month in return for free health care and education, and nearly free transportation and housing. At least a portion of every citizen's food needs are sold to them through ration books at heavily subsidized prices." I wonder if Michael Moore mentioned those rockin' Cuban salaries and fine dining, er, rationing in his health care mockumentary?
I did a report on Cuba once and found out some interesting things. For one, cubans generally go out with a plastic bag just in case they see something on sale that they can sell to someone else for a higher price. Like if they see lettuce on sale for 50% off, they will buy it and sell it later to someone else. Another thing strange there is that you are not allowed to congregate in large groups and if you are a foreigner in cuba and you are talking to a woman on the street and the police see you, they can arrest the girl and put her in jail. The only way around that is if she is your girlfriend. Now of course it cant be as simple as just telling the police she is your girlfriend, you actually have to have papers saying she is your girlfriend and you can only get them through a lawyer who charges about $100 US for the paper work. Also...there are 2 prices for Cohiba cigars (cuban cigars!) One is for locals which is $20 and one is for non-cubans which is like $260 if i remember right. Of course there are tons of people willing to buy the cigars for you for $20, so very easy around that at which point you can sell the cigars for $300-400+ in the US. Oh the other thing is that if you are american and you travel to cuba, you will get a fine in the mail one day for $7,500 as mexico & the carribian sometimes tell the US government who flew to Cuba with a US passport. When I was younger, I had a plan for my retirement...go to Cuba, buy cuban cigars, get fidel castro to sign a box, then sell it at auction after he died. I figured I might get a couple $100k if I could pull it off, but I think meeting el presidente is a little harder than it looks. LOL
From what I hear, Cuba was quite the hot spot before Fidel took over. Europeans loved to travel there and some wanted to retire there. There was a China Town and all sorts of touristy spots and night life in Havana. It would be ironic if they moved away from totalitarianism as the U.S. creeps towards it and it eventually became a popular spot for expats...along with Nicaragua and Vietnam.
As a person who has been to Cuba, all your info is pure bull shit. Nobody in Cuba is starving period. As for the cigars - only suckers buy them for the official price which is not $260. You can get them for a lot less in Mexico so why would they be more in Cuba? For the record they are not. Mexico will not provide the US with any info, and the Cubans will not stamp your passport if you ask. The US gov. must have proof that you went and then might prosecute. I ma sure you remember the following from your HS government class: innocent until proven guilty. Do you really think that the gov. will send you a fine in the mail based on what Mexico will tell them? As for the girls, you clearly have never been to a night club in Havana or to a beach in Santiago or to Cuba in general. Word of advice, stay in your mom's basement a keep working on them reports. Another couple of yeras you will obtain that elusive HS diploma. I do not want to be rude, but you are a fucking retarded asswipe.
Cuba was where people went to gamble in the good ole days. It had a number of casinos. After Castro, Las Vegas replaced it as the hub of gambling for wealthy Americans.
Never been to Cuba, but I must call bullshit on this post. Putting a girl in jail for talking to a foreigner? Legal paperwork for having a girlfriend? I find this VERY hard to believe....