NationStates Jolt Archive

A Cuban scientist who helped develop a low-cost synthetic vaccine that prevents meningitis and pneumonia in small children says he was offended the U.S. government denied his request to travel to the United States to receive an award.

Vicente Verez-Bencomo was to accept the award recognizing his team's technological achievement during a Wednesday ceremony at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, Calif. He had also been invited to address a gathering of the Society for Glycobiology in Boston on Friday.

Verez-Bencomo said the State Department denied him a visa because the visit would be "detrimental to the interests of the United States."

Read the rest: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10010619/

Can anyone explain why it would be "detrimental to the interests of the US" to allow a doctor to receive an award for developing a vaccine that protects children from pneumonia and menigitis? Cause I'm stumped.

The State Department has allowed other Cubans to travel to the US in the past, has it not? Or is this just part of a ban on all Cubans travelling to the US? (I know Americans aren't supposed to go to Cuba, I have no idea if the reverse is true.)

We can compromise and send him to Guantanamo Bay. It's in Cuba, but it's American.


Seriously, this is just stupid.

Mmmm, I imagine the US goverment stamps down hard on anything that makes Castro look good. Even to stupid lengths.

Can anyone explain why it would be "detrimental to the interests of the US" to allow a doctor to receive an award for developing a vaccine that protects children from pneumonia and menigitis? Cause I'm stumped.Because he's a filthy Red, by george, and they can do no good. He probably did his experiments by kidnapping American children who were singing "God Bless America" at a fundraiser for orphanages filled with nuns and puppies. To say a dirty commie did anything good would be simply un-American.

Didn't you know? Only capitalist states make medical advances. Why would anyone want to help humanity if there wasn't a huge cash incentive involved?

Is there a State Department ruling that disallows all Cuban visas? This I am curious about. IF this were true, then this whole situation begins to make sense, even though it is still disappointing.

Is there a State Department ruling that disallows all Cuban visas? This I am curious about. IF this were true, then this whole situation begins to make sense, even though it is still disappointing.

I wouldn't be suprised. If Americans are banned from travel to Cuba, I imagine Cubans would be banned from travel to America as well.

:eek: OMG a commie!! barr the gates!!1111!!1!!+++

:rolleyes:

Our entire Cuba policy is stupid. It's not like we've squeezed Castro out of power. Besides, Batista was just as bad, they just played nice with US big business. Damn hypocrites.

The only people we're hurting with out embargo is the peasents and the poor of Cuba in who's name we're supposidly doing it. Fuck that.

Okay.

It looks like US scientists are allowed to travel to Cuba for most professional reasons but not to promote biotechnical research which I guess this vaccine falls under.

Under a General License, full-time professionals who travel to Cuba to conduct professional research are authorized to engage in travel-related transactions. The same applies to full-time professionals traveling to Cuba to attend professional meetings or conferences (provided that the meeting is not intended for the promotion of tourism in Cuba or fostering the production of biotechnological products). Scientists and academicians who want to go to Cuba to conduct research or to attend meetings or conferences are able to legally travel to Cuba under the General License. For example, a scientist who wishes to attend a conference about energy or agricultural practices in Cuba -even if the topic is not particular to Cuba but the conference happens to take place in that country- is legally authorized to travel to Cuba and to engage in travel-related transactions.http://shr.aaas.org/rtt/policy.htm#general

I can't google anything about rules for Cubans travelling to the US. Maybe someone else will have better luck?

The US government's preferred method for Cubans travelling to the continental United States involves floatation devices, coast guard craft, and TV news helicopters... :rolleyes:

Cuba's dictator for life is no good, as a native Cuban just ask me, my family and relatives, political dissidents, defectors, and rafters that flee Cuba on anything that floats including floating trucks and taxi cab cars across 90- miles of shark infested waters.

The US and the European Union nations should help in getting rid of him
like President Clinton said it was a good thing dictator Sadam Hussein is gone.

As far as a war stradegy, cut off all economic, political and social relations,
this will lead to a balsero rafter crisis, a naval blockade of Cuba nothing goes in, nothing goes out, until that government falls from withinn.

Then let the Cuban Americans organize a flotilla of boats to visit and take
food and aid to thier relatives on the island, many of whom are receiving personal letters, phone calls and
Dollars or Euros from thier overseas relatives before any american sets foot on Cuba, no Fidel Castro no problem.

Cuba trades with all the democratic nations of the world, the European Union nations, Canada, Australia, New Zeeland, Japan, Mexico and many others including the USA, Cuba buys American products on a cash as you buy basis
the only so-called embargo left is a lack of American Credits, the so called embargo has a big hole, American subduary business trade with Cuba all over
the world, Cuban stores are filled with American products sold by the Cuban government to the Cuban people in Convertible Cuban Pesos, that is Dollars or Euros sent by Cuban overseas relatives to their relatives in Cuba exchanged by the Cuban government into Cuban Convertible Pesos, not Cuban Pesos their national currency.

And the Cuban dictatorship government has not change its ways a one nation embargo cannot work, but trade turists and political relations have not worked either because a dictatorship government does not change out of the goodness of its heart.

Surely though, you believe your fellow Cuban deserves the right to accept an award though?

Surely though, you believe your fellow Cuban deserves the right to accept an award though?
I would think so. This is just the latest in a long line of stupid Cuba policies dating back to, well, before Castro, that's for damn sure.

Surely though, you believe your fellow Cuban deserves the right to accept an award though?

As a native Cuban the award will mean something good to me when native Cuban artists now Cuban Americans can visit Cuba and perform in Cuba just
like Cuban artists who support the Cuban government can come to the USA
and perform in Miami and other parts of the USA before Cuban American audiences. ( note- many of those Cuban artists defect the Cuban government all over the world including in the USA).

When they come to perform in Miami some Cuban Americans protest their shows but many others buy tickets and attend thier shows despite thier political, economic and social diffrences in a democratic nation, and sometimes some of those artists defect the Cuban government.

But on the other hand, the Cuban government would not let Cuban Americans
Artists opposed to Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro for life to visit and perform in Cuba.

The Music of Willy Chirino, Gloria Estefan and the late Celia Cruz is forbidden in Cuba yet Cubans in Cuba illegally copy and sell and listen to thier music
through the extensive black market.

As an exsample I remember once when Gloria Estefan was to sing at an Olympics and the Cuban government representatives protested and caused a riot.

The late Celia Cruz had to to go to the Guantanamo naval base and sing there
, her music was broadcast through loud speakers to the Cubans in the town of Guantanamo who gathered near the base to hear her sing the Guantanamera, her dream was to sing in a free Cuba, one day she will through videos.

Just now on Saturday November 19, 2005 Willy Chirino will perform a concert
that will be broadcast to Cuba on Radio Marti and TV Marti, which is expected to be able to be seen on Cuban TV despite the Cuban governments
expected jamming of signals.

Just the other day, I got a phone call from a Miami family member that got a phone call from a family member in Cuba telling us that they had seen one of their USA relatives on an american TV channel news show beign interviewd about the Hurricanes in Florida, I mention this personal story to prove to you all that sometimes despite Cuban government jamming of signals American Radio and TV station signals do get through to Cuba.

As far as signal broadcasting from the USA and protests from the Cuban government goes, I can assure you that every day Cuban American Radio stations in Miami get signal jammed by the Cuban government because they can be heard in Cuba without even trying, sometimes you cant even listen to the radio properly because of Cuban government jamming, the Cuban American stations cannot respond back because they have to follow American government regulations as to the amount of thier power, while the
Cuban government uses all the power it wants and then protests American
broadcasting to Cuba.

If the Cuban government wants all thier artists and other professionals given visitor Visas then the Cuban government should do the same, it shoud let
Cuban American artists like Willy Chirino and Gloria Estefan visit and perform in Cuba like many of its artist are allowed to visit and perform in the USA, I would bet they would not accept that fair deal.

I am a lot more concerned about this (http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/hq642.doc.htm).
The Committee had before it a letter from Cuba (A/AC.154/362) protesting the denial of a visa to the President of Cuba’s National Assembly to attend the second World Conference of Speakers of Parliament held at United Nations Headquarters, from 7 to 9 September 2005. The letter stated that the pretext for the denial of visas was that the World Conferences of Speakers of Parliament were “private meetings that are not covered by the Agreements on the United Nations Headquarters”. The Cuban letter noted that the Conference was jointly organized by the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, according to a General Assembly resolution adopted in November 2004. Cuba also recounted that a visa had been similarly denied in 2000, as well for the first World Conference.

I mean, do your sorry little bickering if you have to...but the UN is an entirely different matter - the US should not even have to issue a delegate with a visa.

I am a lot more concerned about this (http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/hq642.doc.htm).


I mean, do your sorry little bickering if you have to...but the UN is an entirely different matter - the US should not even have to issue a delegate with a visa.

I agree. They should chain the doors and give every one of those limousine leeach 24 hours to get the hell out of the country. Then start over from scratch in a place with an inhospitable and uncomfortable climate with no distractions to pursue anything other than serious work. If they want to cut deals, enrich themselves or play secret spy games, then let them spy on some seals or bribe polar bears. Make it a hunk of ice without natural resources and declare it internationally unowned property.