"Obama to free Cuba family travel, remittances"

[Clio the Leo]

(if this was already posted, I missed it)

Obama to free Cuba family travel, remittances: report
Fri Apr 3, 2009 6:48pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama plans to abolish restrictions on family travel and remittances to Cuba, fulfilling a campaign promise, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Obama does not intend to call for lifting the longstanding trade embargo against Cuba, which would require congressional action, the Journal said, citing an unidentified administration official.

The Obama administration is not considering any specific diplomatic outreach toward Cuba's communist government, the newspaper reported.

The removal of limits on family travel and cash remittances would allow Cuban Americans and Cuban emigres living in the United States to travel freely to the island, instead of once a year at present, and remove the ceiling of $1,200 per person in cash remittances to family members in Cuba.

(more)
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE5326HV20090403

[FrenchieCat]

1. Doesn't matter. This thread would only have 125 posts and 78 recommends,

if it said he wasn't gonna change the policy.

Him keeping promises is all matter of facts to be taken for granted....
him doing things that he'd never said he'd do....now that's what's important!


seriously good news though! :thumbsup:

[dcindian]

7. Why the constant Duer bashing from you certain few?

I bet a lot would comment if the first post in every good thing President Obama did wasn't a hate post from you and your ilk.

[JTFrog]

10. Yea, it's all Frenchie's fault!

Goddamn you Frenchie! Get out of the way of my PONIES!!!!

:rofl:

[firedupdem]

2. I had not heard this. Thanks for posting. He's making progress. n/t

[Pisces]

3. Great news.

[EFerrari]

4. Why is there an embargo against Cuba but not China?

[Hekate]

5. Apparently the Cuban-Exile community in Florida is a political force to be reckoned with...

... and they hate Castro's guts. That said, there was also the little matter of the Cuban Missile Crisis when Krushchev installed USSR missiles on Cuba during JFK's presidency. Cuba was a client state of the USSR.

However, that was nearly half a century ago and the situation has been otherwise for a long time. The USSR is no more, and little Cuba is no threat to us. It's long past time for the US to tell the Cuban exiles that it's a new century, and normalize relations with Cuba.

We shall see.

As for China, Richard Nixon reached an agreement with them during his administration, recognizing that it no longer made sense to pretend that a nation that size didn't exist, totalitarian Communist regime or not. But apparently he didn't want to take on the Cubans in Florida, much closer to home.

Hekate

[EFerrari]

8. The thing is, it's not only about the right wing nutcases in Florida

(who, by the way, have sponsored terrorism both in Miami and in Havana). The whole structure of political patronage in that area would be unbalanced if the embargo was lifted. It has nothing to do with Cuba or anything the Cuban government is doing. It's about votes and donations and keeping the balance of political power. And, that's incredibly sad.

[Hope And Change]

6. K & R!

[a la izquierda]

9. Great, little steps make big strides.

I'm hoping to visit Cuba without having to : 1) withdraw all my cash in Mexico beforehand; 2) deal with the headaches that inevitably come with being someplace the government says I shouldn't be.
Hopefully this will breeze through without a peep from S. Florida, and Cuban families can be reunited.

[jberryhill]

11. I hope this is not a long stage

If someone with relatives can go, and have no economic limits, then why can't anyone else go?

You mean to tell me that we are going to have a privileged class in this country that gets to vacation at their own Caribbean island?

[Arkana]

12. The old Cold Warriors in the Senate are going to have heart attacks.