A note from Pac

It has been a long time since I posted on this blog. I am glad to be back doing something worthwhile like this; well, it is worthwhile for me. Last year was a very difficult year for me. I have encountered some things I would not wish on anyone, but I am now back and ready to resume life with full vigor. I don't have any new Cuba pictures. I haven't been there since 2005 so I will rely on my older ones for this effort. Our university lost its permit for educational travel to Cuba as did most US universities. I participated in an ECDET meeting in Washington, DC in 2006. It was held in conjunction with Cuba Day which was a big success; nothing was changed, but it did attract attention from many lawmakers. I don't think the travel situation will change until after the election. All the candidates will be in favor of the embargo in an effort to capture the Cuban-American vote. I am cautiously optimistic that in the next administration good sense will prevail and we will do business with Cuba. Certainly the current activities by the Chinese makes the embargo an even more ridiculous thing. It is as Col. Wilkerson once said,"The dumbest foreign policy the US has ever had." But then, one thing that politicians are virtually immune to is accusations of hypocrisy. Maybe if the Cubans would start making tennis shoes or jeans they would be more acceptable.