Remember that trade embargo that the US has against all of Cuba? The one that forces you to drive to Tijuana to pick up Cuban cigars and the one that prevents you and your family from stopping in Havana on your annual cruise? Yep, that embargo.

We as Americans have been forbidden from trading with the Socialist nation for over forty years now, as our good buddy Fidel Castro kept the country under lockdown and its population in poverty. Our "sanctions," which have recently come under increased scrutiny, are meant to punish the totalitarian government and encourage democracy in the island nation. How well that's working is another debate.

But our trade embargo sure isn't stopping Spirit Airlines from doing business with the Cubans. They've been paying the government regularly to use Cuban airspace on their flights over the Carribbean -- something that spokeswoman Misty Pinson claims was not premeditated, saying: ``Spirit Airlines never had the intention of violating any requirements or laws to carry out its international operations.''

How does your morality buzzer NOT go off when you're writing checks to Cuba? Aren't all business transactions with the communist state illegal?

Needless to say, the embattled airline is now coughing up 100G's in fines for illegal payments to the Cubans. Better to fly around next time.

As you might realize, there are certain countries that are considered "no-go's" for American travelers, be it for political or economic or other reasons. Publication Foreign Policy took a closer look at this question of prohibited places, recently creating a list of the "Top Tourist Spots Americans Can't Visit," a rundown of the top tourist attractions in otherwise "taboo" locations like Iran, Somalia, Burma and Cuba. Who knew Mogadishu had coral reefs teeming with fish just off the shore? Too bad you're likely to be kidnapped by warlords if you try to visit.

While this sort of list is a deterrent for many, others eat common sense for breakfast, bringing back some fascinating stories in the process. It's not that they can't see the danger - these countries can be violent, unstable, and often downright nasty places. But that doesn't mean they have nothing to offer. Many have distinguished histories as centers of culture, great monuments and great natural wonders. As Foreign Policy points out for instance, the vast ruins of Persepolis in Southern Iran offer a breathtaking view of the tombs and palaces of Persian rulers Xerxes I and Darius the Great. In Cuba, the settlement of Baracoa was the colonial home of Spanish Conquistadors, and also one of the first places Columbus set foot in the New World.

Check out the list. Nobody is suggesting you should/can make a visit, but these places can offer us further insight into the many subtleties that truly define a location's identity.

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[Via MetaFilter]

One of my favorite country blogs of all time is that of Yoani Sanchez, the 32 year old blogging secretly from Havana. To write on her blog, she has to pretend to be a tourist and go to a hotel to access the Internet.

Of the 11 million people who live on the island, only about 200,000 have open access to the web -- they are mainly government employees, researchers and academics, to whom the government has given permission. The rest of the Cubans can access email and a few Cuban sites from certain public spots (for example the post office), but everything else is blocked.

I first found out about Yoani on the IHT last year, and have been reading her ever since. She reports beautifully (both in Spanish and English) on happenings in Cuba -- she is probably one of the only authentic sources of information coming out of the island without censorship, and she always sounds fearless.

A couple of weeks ago she was chosen by Madrid's El Pais newspaper to get the Ortega y Gasset Journalism Prize, but she was not allowed to leave Cuba to receive her award in Spain. To add to this, I read that she made the Time Top 100 list of influential people, which is phenomenal and much deserved.

But, what I fail to understand is that, with all the international exposure she has been getting -- certainly magnified by being featured in Time Magazine alongside the likes of Obama, Andre Agassi, Lance Armstrong and Oprah Winfrey -- how on earth is she still getting away with her secret blogging? Does the Cuban government have any idea? She must really disguise herself well, and her German must be flawless to be able to get away with this for almost a year. Surely authorities must know -- why aren't they stopping her?

I don't wish they catch her, I just don't see how in such a tight regime she has been getting away with this for so long. It almost makes it questionable, no?

It could have been the longest cigar ever rolled, but it probably won't be.

Cuba's stogie-rolling king Jose Castelar, 64, teamed up with five assistants, using nearly 93 pounds (42 kilograms) of top-quality tobacco to assemble a 98-foot (30-meter) cigar, AP reports. Castelar set Guinness Records for the world's longest cigars in 2001, 2003 and April 2005, when he completed a stogie measuring 20.41 meters, just shy of 67 feet.

But Castelar, who learned the art of cigar-making from an uncle at age 5, is likely to fall short this time: Guinness says Puerto Rican cigar-maker Patricio Pena crafted a 41.2-meter (135-foot) stogie last year. Competition from cigar rollers in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico is "stiff but friendly," driving Castelar to keep rolling.

Honestly, what makes Cuban cigars "so much better" than Puerto Rican or Dominican cigars? Is it the forbidden fruit factor?

[via contracostatimes.com]

Things are changing in Cuba, but they are not changing fast enough.

New President Raul Castro, Fidel's brother, has lifted a ban on Cuban citizens staying at hotels previously reserved for foreigners. They will now be charged in hard currency, like other guests. New rules will also allow Cubans to rent cars at state-run agencies for the first time.

On Friday, Cuba authorized its citizens to obtain mobile phones, which only foreigners and key officials in the Communist Government were previously allowed to have, The Chicago Tribune reports. A resolution signed by the Interior Commerce Ministry on March 21 also authorized the sale of computers, microwaves and DVD players, items which had only been sold to companies and foreigners. Of course, many people in Cuba are too poor to benefit from any of this.

As The Economist pointed out, if things keep going this way, by 2050 Cubans might be allowed satellite television.

Photo: localsurfer, Flickr

I cannot believe Fidel Castro actually resigned as the president of Cuba. I mean he is only 81 years old and still has plenty of energy to keep him going for at least 35 more years! Was I the only one who thought that Fidel was actually immortal? Well, we'll still have to see about that.

In his written speech to the nation, Fidel said that he is not "fading into the sunset." It's just that his health is not allowing him to dedicate the energy necessary to run a country. I am sure running a totalitarian state takes a lot out of you. You know, it's lonely at the top.

According to the NY Times, Fidel's statement raised the possibility that little would change after Sunday, when the National Assembly meets to select a new head of state. Cuba will probably continue to be ruled in essence by two presidents, "with Raúl Castro (Fidel's brother) on stage while Fidel Castro lurked in the wings."

Reuters reported that Fidel's resignation was unlikely to make the United States lift its trade embargo on Cuba. See, just more of the same old.

It's always struck me as unfair that US citizens aren't permitted to travel to Cuba, though of course many do. But it keeps things in perspective a bit when I remember that the vast majority of Cuban citizens aren't allowed by their government to travel anywhere outside of Cuba.

A video recently surfaced of some Cuban university students challenging Ricardo Alarcon, the president of Cuba's National Assembly, over travel restrictions and the country's economic plan.

At one point in the video, a university student named Eliecer Avila asks Alarcon, ""Why don't the Cuban people have the real possibility to stay at hotels or travel to different places around the world?"

Alarcon offers this risible response: "[I]f everybody in the world, all six billion inhabitants, were able to travel wherever they pleased, there would be a tremendous traffic jam in our planet's airspace. People who travel are really a minority."

The student also asked Alarcon to detail the country's economic plan, and expressed concerns about the "convertible peso, " which makes goods 25 times more expensive for Cubans, who are paid in a less valuable currency. "That means a worker has to work two or three days to buy a toothbrush," the student said.

This sort of public challenge of authority is incredibly rare in Cuba, but the students were actually given a forum by Raul Castro, who has encouraged citizens to voice their concerns without fear of reprisal.

Let's hope this, along with the upcoming election on February 24, is the beginning of a freer Cuba.

More here and here, and watch the video (en Español) aquí.

Fidel Castro, Cuba's dictator since 1959, hinted yesterday that he may be willing to hand over power to younger Cuban leaders. In a letter discussing the Bali summit on global warming, Castro wrote, "My elemental duty is not to cling to positions, or even less to obstruct the path of younger people, but to share experiences and ideas whose modest worth comes from the exceptional era in which I lived."

Castro, now 81, handed over power to his younger brother, Raul, 16 months ago, and has not made a public appearance since that time in July, 2006, though he remains Cuba's official president. Castro didn't offer any specifics on when, or to whom, his power would eventually be transferred, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that Cuba will soon see fresh leadership.

While Castro's Cuba has been occasionally praised for its health care system, Cuba has extensive economic problems (in part because of a US embargo) and Castro's government has been intolerant of political dissent.

The next few years in Cuba will undoubtedly be times of great transition, so those wanting to see Castro's Cuba should act fast. However, US travelers wishing to visit Cuba are out of luck (wink, wink), as travel there is strictly prohibited (nudge, nudge).

The political situation of many countries doesn't allow much freedom of press; what gets printed is thoroughly watch-dogged. That's kind of messed-up when you realize that the media is the one thing that keeps us connected and informed about the rest of the world.

I remember when I lived in Dubai, I saw journalists fearing to write about anything outside the standard protocol of the publication. I would get bored senseless reading the local publications and as a budding writer, would get itchy palms when some meaty news would come to me through the grapevine, that of course, would never see the day of light. Until we started blogging!

I think blogging has taken to new levels our insight into otherwise forbidden cultural information of cities. Secret Dubai Diary, UAE Prison blog (blocked in Dubai) and Neurotic Iraqi Wife, are some blogs I read for raw insight into lives of people and culture in these countries. Others such as Sex and Dubai and controversial Beijing blog of Zhao Jing have unfortunately now been shut down.

There was great story in the IHT recently about underground bloggers in Havana who are screaming out to let people know the realities of life in Castro's city.

My only contribution to the free press cause is being part of Global Voices and Reporters Without Borders. Both blogs are fighting for freedom of press and doing their best to provide untainted feeds and news from around the world.

It takes solid guts to blog on the edge, as it could result in imprisonment and/or deportation. I don't know if I'd have the balls.

How serious is the US government about their Cuba travel ban?

Serious enough that they recently fined Travelocity.com $182,750 for booking 1,500 trips to the forbidden isle between January 1998 and April 2004.

A spokesperson for the site claimed that the bookings were the result of a technical failure (i.e. a failsafe that was supposed to prevent anyone with an American IP address from booking a trip to Cuba). I'm not sure I entirely believe this excuse.

Nonetheless, it's pretty cool that 1,500 Americans were able to take advantage of this loophole. Unfortunately, now that records of these trips have probably been subpoenaed by the US Government, I'm sure these under-the-radar travelers can now expect a nasty letter from the Treasury Department.

And you thought you got away with it!