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<blockquote data-quote="Going strong" data-source="post: 1053381" data-attributes="member: 8200">I know many Cubans indeed, men and women (most of them living in Cuba, some in Miami). I have traveled several times over there (all over Cuba except of course Havana, which I naturally dislike), spanning more than a decade. I had a Cuban fiancee, and never went to touristy hotels. I still have very good friends in the island...Well, so: to sum it up, I know a lot about the Cuban culture, which used to be very unique, endearing often and interesting; and about their, er, values (which, sadly, nowadays are but the USD and consumerism - among the young I mean). (By the way, in case it's verifiable through RVF logs, I even logged on the forum from several &quot;exotic&quot; Cuban IP addresses... Ah, and as luck has it, I also showed pics of me in provincial Cuba, with assorted Cuban chicks, to a highly-ranked forum member, not three days ago. So yeah, you bet I know Cuba!)Quoting you: &quot;Don't underestimate the wealth, power, influence and resolve of the Cuban exile community.Once the last vestiges of the Castro regime are gone and the capital floodgates open (the corporate trickle has already started) Cuba is more likely to be on the path to becoming US state #51 than devolve into another Haiti&quot;Cuba &quot;more likely to be on the path to becoming US state #51 than devolve into another Haiti&quot;?? Well, do you know that airlines companies are already diminishing, scaling down, the frequency of their flights to Cuba (after the partial opening of the market and slots, just a few months ago)? Tourists just don't come to the island as much as expected (US tourists in any case)...Also, why would &quot;Hispanic&quot; Cuban Americans invest in a country that has changed so much, where they'd be an ethnic minority? I don't see them coming en-masse to live or even invest in the island. Yeah, couple of paladares here or there, a few casas particulares, sure, but apart from that...</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Going strong, post: 1053381, member: 8200"] I know many Cubans indeed, men and women (most of them living in Cuba, some in Miami). I have traveled several times over there (all over Cuba except of course Havana, which I naturally dislike), spanning more than a decade. I had a Cuban fiancee, and never went to touristy hotels. I still have very good friends in the island... Well, so: to sum it up, I know a lot about the Cuban culture, which used to be very unique, endearing often and interesting; and about their, er, values (which, sadly, nowadays are but the USD and consumerism - among the young I mean). (By the way, in case it's verifiable through RVF logs, I even logged on the forum from several "exotic" Cuban IP addresses... Ah, and as luck has it, I also showed pics of me in provincial Cuba, with assorted Cuban chicks, to a highly-ranked forum member, not three days ago. So yeah, you bet I know Cuba!) Quoting you: "Don't underestimate the wealth, power, influence and resolve of the Cuban exile community. Once the last vestiges of the Castro regime are gone and the capital floodgates open (the corporate trickle has already started) Cuba is more likely to be on the path to becoming US state #51 than devolve into another Haiti" Cuba "more likely to be on the path to becoming US state #51 than devolve into another Haiti"?? Well, do you know that airlines companies are already diminishing, scaling down, the frequency of their flights to Cuba (after the partial opening of the market and slots, just a few months ago)? Tourists just don't come to the island as much as expected (US tourists in any case)... Also, why would "Hispanic" Cuban Americans invest in a country that has changed so much, where they'd be an ethnic minority? I don't see them coming en-masse to live or even invest in the island. Yeah, couple of paladares here or there, a few casas particulares, sure, but apart from that... [/QUOTE]

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