Grrr...why weren't these people immediately made US Citizens?

DRoseDARs · July 24, 2003, 21:48

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...e_odd_cubans_1

Cubans make freedom bid in floating Chevy truck
Thu Jul 24,12:23 PM ET

MIAMI (Reuters) - The 12 Cubans who tried to sail a 1951 Chevy truck from the communist-ruled island to the United States got no marks from U.S. authorities for their creativity.

The would-be emigrants were sent back home.

Since Fidel Castro (news - web sites)'s 1959 revolution, Cubans have tried to leave the Caribbean island on rudimentary rafts, on giant truck inner tubes, in stolen boats and planes, even by windsurfer.

But no one remembers anyone attempting the 90-mile (145-km) crossing of the Florida Straits in a floating flatbed truck with 55-gallon (250-litre) drums strapped to its sides, tires still in place, a propeller attached to its drive shaft and a driver behind the wheel.

"We've seen surfboards, pieces of Styrofoam, bathtubs, refrigerators. But never an automobile," Coast Guard Petty Officer Ryan Doss said on Thursday.

A U.S. government plane spotted the bright-green truck chugging through the water at 8 mph (13 kph) on July 16 about 40 miles (64 km) south of Key West, just over halfway from Cuba to Florida. The Cubans had fashioned a makeshift, bright yellow shelter on the truck's bed.

"The truck's engine was actually running, propelling it through the water," Doss said.

The Coast Guard picked up the 12 Cubans from the vintage vehicle and took them back to the island on Sunday.

The truck was deemed a hazard to navigation and was sent to the bottom.

Under the U.S. immigration policy known as "wet foot, dry foot," Cubans who manage to set foot on U.S. soil are usually allowed to stay while those stopped at sea are routinely sent back to Cuba.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Should we really be turning away people who are clearly made of the right stuff to appear on Monster Garage?

Kudos to the fleeing Cubans for their innovative and apparently functional

approach; shame on the Coast Guard for sending them back to their deaths on the island.

DinoDoc · July 24, 2003, 21:50

That's just too damn creative an approach to a problem not to reward. They should have been let in.

MrFun · July 24, 2003, 21:52

ditto, DinoDoc

Cruddy · July 24, 2003, 21:52

I guess the rules weren't aimed at people making their own amphibs.

Credit to the folks - that's determination for you.

GePap · July 24, 2003, 21:53

Cause them the rules: don;t make it to shore, don;t get a free greencard.

The shame is that only cubans get this treatment: pay $30,000 to some human smuggler to get you to cross and ocean in a crammped cargo hold from China to the US, but if they catch you, even if on shore, first to prison, then back to China (or Haiti, or wherever you left), except Cuba, cause we all know human suffereing in Cuba is so much worse than, say, Angola, or Haiti, or any other state in the world.....

chequita guevara · July 24, 2003, 21:53

We should be sending back all of them. By allowing them in and automatically making them citizens, we are encouraging people to try and kill themselves in the shark-infested Florida straights. If they need to get out of Cuba so badly, let them go to the Bahamas or Haiti which are both much closer than Florida.

DRoseDARs · July 24, 2003, 21:55

With the "Wet food, dry feet" policy, would it really have been that difficult to allow them to finish the journey. Hell, once they got to shore they could have driven to the nearest McDonald's ( :Puke: ) and gotten a bite to eat, curtousy(sp?) of the US government.

Cruddy · July 24, 2003, 21:57

I wonder what the Navy's reaction was...

"Contact, semi submerged object heading Cuba-Miami at 2 knots".

"BATTLE STATIONS!!!"

yavoon · July 24, 2003, 21:58

Quote:

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
We should be sending back all of them. By allowing them in and automatically making them citizens, we are encouraging people to try and kill themselves in the shark-infested Florida straights. If they need to get out of Cuba so badly, let them go to the Bahamas or Haiti which are both much closer than Florida.

I think america likes immigration. now not everyone does, but we were built on it. especially if its from a relatively small place like cuba that can't flood us like mexico can.

CorpusScorpius · July 24, 2003, 22:00

Quote:

Originally posted by DRoseDARs

Should we really be turning away people who are clearly made of the right stuff to appear on Monster Garage?

Amen brother! General Motors coud have sponsored this group of people..........Our Vehicles last up to 50 years

I would have loved to see the Disclaimer after the Comericial was over: Please do not try this at home Closed Course &(Professional Driver) Political Dissendents

Tuberski · July 24, 2003, 22:00

Quote:

Originally posted by Cruddy
I wonder what the Navy's reaction was...

"Contact, semi submerged object heading Cuba-Miami at 2 knots".

"BATTLE STATIONS!!!"

Navy and Coast Guard are two different entities, and it would be about 8 knots, not 2.

:cutesmileyhere:

ACK!

Cruddy · July 24, 2003, 22:05

Quote:

Originally posted by Tuberski

Navy and Coast Guard are two different entities, and it would be about 8 knots, not 2.

:cutesmileyhere:

ACK!

Quote:

A U.S. government plane spotted the bright-green truck chugging through the water at 8 mph

Neither of them spotted it first - as for the speed, I find it hard to believe a home built amphib could make 8mph, let alone 8 knots, without a strong tail current or other simutus.

C'mon, where's your sense of humour?

GePap · July 24, 2003, 22:10

Quote:

Originally posted by yavoon

I think america likes immigration. now not everyone does, but we were built on it. especially if its from a relatively small place like cuba that can't flood us like mexico can.

You mean like in 1981?

Haiti is smaller, less people..and we give Haitian immigrants hell.

most Cuban immigrants, like most Chinese immigrants, are economic immigrants, not political refugees. It is utterly absurd (except politically) that only people from one country get to have free greencards if they make it illegally unto US shores.

mrmitchell · July 24, 2003, 22:11

Now THAT'S the kind of people we should be letting in. Maybe we should make a deal with Cuba--we ship out 100 of our idiots for every few of these guys they send over.

Tuberski · July 24, 2003, 22:11

Quote:

Originally posted by Cruddy

Neither of them spotted it first - as for the speed, I find it hard to believe a home built amphib could make 8mph, let alone 8 knots, without a strong tail current or other simutus.

C'mon, where's your sense of humour?

That was suposed to be the orange :Cute: smiley, I'm in a contest to see if I can avoid using smileys, other than

ACK! anyway.

So, yes I knew you were joking, so was I.

ACK!

Agathon · July 24, 2003, 22:23

Funny how the few Cubans that try to make it to the states get so much press, while the thousands of Mexicans that try every day don't seem to merit that much attention.

There are 200 million street children in the world. Not one is Cuban. If the US dumped that stupid embargo they could get on with their lives. But no, the US would dearly like to give Cuban children the right to choose to sew baseballs for 2 cents a day.

yavoon · July 24, 2003, 22:26

Quote:

Originally posted by GePap

You mean like in 1981?

Haiti is smaller, less people..and we give Haitian immigrants hell.

most Cuban immigrants, like most Chinese immigrants, are economic immigrants, not political refugees. It is utterly absurd (except politically) that only people from one country get to have free greencards if they make it illegally unto US shores.

I think ur tryin to start something w/ me that aint there. someone else could respond to ur post tho.

=D

Cruddy · July 24, 2003, 22:29

Does this mean if I turn up on a Florida beach, speaking fluent Latin American Spanish, I can get a green card for nothing?

Why aren't the Mexicans trying that stunt?

mrmitchell · July 24, 2003, 22:29

Oh and BTW, yes, immigration laws are ****ing stupid. If you want to move, why should anyone stop you?

GePap · July 24, 2003, 23:25

Quote:

Originally posted by Cruddy
Does this mean if I turn up on a Florida beach, speaking fluent Latin American Spanish, I can get a green card for nothing?

Why aren't the Mexicans trying that stunt?

Cause the Cuban Americans in the Miami IRS office could tell within an instant if it was a Cuban or not...just by how they speak.

Oerdin · July 25, 2003, 00:58

I'm actually against even having the "make it on shore and you get a green card" policy. I'd bet 90%+ of these people are economic migrants. They should have to provide detailed proof that they are being prosecuted for their political or religious beliefs before these free loaders get to sign up for welfare and a free ride.

Dis · July 25, 2003, 02:57

I'm impressed with their ingenuity.

we need people like this in the U.S. People like that are what built our great nation.

DRoseDARs · July 25, 2003, 03:06

They built a boat...out of a '51 Chevy Pickup...made out of not-quite-bouyant metal. They shouldn't have been turned away so callously.

Methinks at the very least they would have had little trouble finding jobs as mechanics. My allusion to Monster Garage was tongue-in-cheek; they clearly have mechanical and problem-solving skills, so worrying about them leaching off Welfare might be a little premature.

Sikander · July 25, 2003, 03:06

Quote:

Originally posted by Agathon
Funny how the few Cubans that try to make it to the states get so much press, while the thousands of Mexicans that try every day don't seem to merit that much attention.

There are 200 million street children in the world. Not one is Cuban. If the US dumped that stupid embargo they could get on with their lives. But no, the US would dearly like to give Cuban children the right to choose to sew baseballs for 2 cents a day.

I'd love to see the embargo lifted, mainly to refute stupid assertions like the only reason that the Cuban economy is complete sh!t is the embargo. There's a reason why Cuba and NK are the only Stalinist command economy states remaining in the world, and that reason is that these sorts of economies have been disasters across the board. But in these two states the dictators are too closely associated with them to give them up.

Elden · July 25, 2003, 03:28

Quote:

Originally posted by Oerdin
I'm actually against even having the "make it on shore and you get a green card" policy. I'd bet 90%+ of these people are economic migrants. They should have to provide detailed proof that they are being prosecuted for their political or religious beliefs before these free loaders get to sign up for welfare and a free ride.

BS, Cuba is a communist country anyone with any religious beliefs will be persecuted, guaranteed no proof necessary.

Mordoch · July 25, 2003, 03:32

Quote:

Originally posted by Elden

BS, Cuba is a communist country anyone with any religious beliefs will be persecuted, guaranteed no proof necessary.

The Pope visited Cuba just a few years ago. I very much doubt that he would have done so if religious persecution against Catholics in the country was too severe. What specific evidence do you have if recent significant religious persecution in Cuba? Just because Cuba is Communist in name doens't mean it follows all aspects of that doctrine to the letter.

Elden · July 25, 2003, 03:35

Quote:

Originally posted by Mordoch

The Pope visited Cuba just a few years ago. I very much doubt that he would have done so if religious persecution against Catholics in the country was too severe. What specific evidence do you have if recent significant religious persecution in Cuba? Just because Cuba is Communist in name doens't mean it follows all aspects of that doctrine to the letter.

Wow, didn't know the Pope had visited Cuba, interesting. But still I was under the impression that Communism officially forbade religion with harsh consequences for following it - or was that only the U.S.S.R. ?

Mordoch · July 25, 2003, 04:03

Quote:

Originally posted by Elden

Wow, didn't know the Pope had visited Cuba, interesting. But still I was under the impression that Communism officially forbade religion with harsh consequences for following it - or was that only the U.S.S.R. ?

It sounds like Cuba is far more lenient.

The Pope held a mass while there, and the Cuban government actually provided buses for people for come.

http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9801/22/cub...eax/index.html

With collapse of the USSR, Fidel Castro apparently found it advisable politically to ease allow religious freedom while focussing on maintaining political power.

MichaeltheGreat · July 25, 2003, 04:23

Quote:

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
We should be sending back all of them. By allowing them in and automatically making them citizens, we are encouraging people to try and kill themselves in the shark-infested Florida straights. If they need to get out of Cuba so badly, let them go to the Bahamas or Haiti which are both much closer than Florida.

Of course, if they were fleeing the Batista regime, you'd welcome them with open arms.

Or are you just against all refugees?

Harovan · July 25, 2003, 06:45

Quote:

Originally posted by Elden
Wow, didn't know the Pope had visited Cuba, interesting. But still I was under the impression that Communism officially forbade religion with harsh consequences for following it - or was that only the U.S.S.R. ?

Neither east bloc state forbade religion, not even the USSR, although the restrictions to the churches there may have been more severe than elsewhere. In East Germany, where I grew up, we had pretty strong Evangelic and Catholic communities, or where else do you think came all the priests from, who led the peaceful revolution in 89/90?

Some of the church leaders whined about the "harsh restriction" of the churches though, seeing that less and less people went to the churches. After the reunification, they shut up very quick, seeing that the same shift towards atheism took place in West Germany too. It's a matter of education, I guess, not ideology.