These are the happiest tears I've cried in a long time. Viva Libre Cuba!!!

I dont necessarily think allowing a bunch of people to go to Cuba now, under the auspices of Hurricane Aid, is a good thing.

Shortage of food, lack of potable water, bad sanitary conditions. More poeple on the island just compounds the problems. Creating an organization, possibly with a credible humanitarian organization, under the eyes of the world, would help get supplies to those in need and we'd have some kind of confirmation or assurance that the aid did, in fact, go where needed. Otherwise, its all ultimately money in fidel's pockets.

Val - I so agree. The most important thing is that it doesn't touch castro's fetid hands. If private organizations can do that, good, if public organizations can do that, good, if secret organizations can do that, good, if informal organizations can do that, good. None of this Red-Cross sell-the-stuff-to-the-locals to finance castro's dollar shops stuff that currently goes on. Aid only if aid goes to those in need.

Memo to castro: That doesn't mean you.

That is why I am going myself,to make sure what I take goes from my hands,to my families hands,it is the way it should be anyway, no need for any organization to take on the resposibility and obligation that we are born with as a member of a family.

Val's point makes sense. Too many people in Cuba at once would create more disorganization, make direct transfer of aid harder and more liable to get to fidel's hands.

A controlled, monitored relief effort led by a credible organization is the best way. The fund initiated by CANF is a good start.

I've been thinking about this for a while and maybe some influential people can pick up the idea. Distribute cellphones to Cubans, best would be camera phones.

Cubans are not allowed to register cellphones, but they can use phones registered by foreigners. So here's the idea:

Trustworthy tourists could take the cam phones to Cuba, buy a few Cubacel cards and distribute the phones to trustworthy Cubans, preferably those who get around a lot. Whenever something interesting happens they can send an SMS out and of course they can be called. I don't know if MMS works in Cuba but if it does, pics could be sent, too.

It would be very difficult for Castro to shut this down. The phones are registered to foreigners who have already left Cuba (pick people who are not likely to return). OK, some accounts will be shut down but any foreigner would be able to register a new Cubacel account.

Phones must be GSM. Maybe we could get Motorola to sponsor this? (Think about building up a brand name in a future democratic Cuba). The Cubacel card would cost about 70$ registration (includes 40$ worth), additional cards can be bought for 40$

Free flow of information is the worst that can happen to a dictator.

LACK OF POTABLE WATER, UNSANITARY CONDITIONS, SHORTAGE OF FOOD...
STOP! WHY ARE WE THINKING OF SENDING CUBANS FROM HERE???
LETS ASK JESSE JACKSON, DICK DURBIN, SEN HILLARY CLINTON,BARBRA STREISSAND, SEAN PENN, MICHAEL MOORE, ETC ETC, TO LEAD THE DELEGATION GO TO CUBA AND BRING AID TO THE PEOPLE IN THE ISLAND AFTER DENNIS!!
DON'T FORGET THEY MUST DRINK THE SAME WATER, EAT THE SAME FOOD.
POSTED BY MY EVIL TWIN!

My earlier crying post was an emotional reaction to the idea of Cubans enjoying some free speech. If anyone goes to help I think it should be pastors for peace and members of the NCC, working side by side with the locals in the hardest hit areas, and like Carmen said, eating the same food, drinking the same water, enjoying real Cuban accommodations, for a mandatory period of time like maybe a year or two. There's a lot of work to be done. Maybe dan rather would like to go with them and cover it.

The author of that article seems to have been reading Babalu. :)

I think allowing people to go, whether with an aid group or individually, would foster HOPE which is as important as water and food. These helpers, like YUCA, wouldn't be arriving empty-handed to be parasites like the tourists usually do. They'd bring food and medicine, water filters and purification tablets, whatever they could pack or smuggle in. Together with the Cubans, they'll figure out what to do because Cubans have always been resourceful that way, right? It wouldn't be easy or pretty, but it could really affect the dynamic of the general population to make the move to democracy faster and stronger. --Not overtly of course, but anything that can bolster the underground freedom movement is good in the long run. And armed with cameras and cell phones, they could show the world the real Cuba in a big way.

Yes, as important as the help they would bring, an influx of "outsiders" would be another crack in castro's closed society. Perhaps it would even be the straw that breaks the camel's back which is why castro refused Bush's official offer for hurricane aid.

There's an interesting article here: http://enlayuma.com/node/28#comment-23?PHPSESSID=62509411119c4e8c061ec8977724a1a8
about how the US government offered humanitarian aid after Dennis, and how after Castro rejected it, the state department is now funneling it through various NGO's.. I wonder which organizations they will use..

If you take the time to call the International RED CROSS, they will tell you that the ONLY country in the world where humanitarian aid MUST reach the population through the government and as the government seems fit is…… Ta-da KUBA!
So anything that we can send to KaSStro’s Kuba will somehow be tainted by his bloody hands.
My own family in La Habana PROHIBITED me to send anything, cause they would NOT see it.
And a little point of contention here.
When the USA offers $50K of humanitarian help… that is a pre-assigned number that can be given to any country on a no–questions-asked-come-to-the embassy-and-I’ll give –you-the-cash basis. It does NOT mean that is the ONLY money the USA is willing to send to the country in question. But alas, in typical senile , egocentrically, my Depends are so full of it I cant even move form KaSStro doesn’t need any AID.
See if 40,000 Cubans die (and who REALLY knows how many Cubans have and will die) that’s 40,000 mouths he doesn’t need to feed.
Think of it this way. The Zoo keeper WANTS to keep the lions so weak; they will NOT have the energy to strike back.
AND …. It isn’t HIS fault Cubans are starving, it was the HURRICANE!
Blame it on the “Diabolic forces of Nature”
Brilliant in a Stalin, Hitler, Pol-Pot kindda way.