Probably the least effective way to advocate for the removal of the idiotic and counterproductive travel restrictions on Americans going to Cuba is to have a communist organization make a big splash about it every year.

Because then you get stuff like this:

“In the first 10 minutes, most of what you hear from the U.S. about Cuba is a lie,” Massey said.

Massey said that no one in this country hears about the education system or the free health care in Cuba. She also said a big misconception is the lack of an electoral process.

There is most certainly an electoral process. A single-party process with no competition or exchange of ideas.

A quick visit to the website of the Venceremos Brigade (that last word is a giveaway) reveals:

In 1969, a coalition of young people formed the Venceremos (”We Shall Overcome”) Brigade, as a means of showing solidarity with the Cuban Revolution by working side by side with Cuban workers and challenging U.S. policies towards Cuba

Out of curiousity, why didn’t the Buffalo News report on this mention that the group is a communist one? And what about Cuba did they “learn” was a “lie”, and from whom?

As an aside, I occasionally enjoy reading Generacion Y, written by a young woman from Havana. (Link goes to Google translated version).

This article in Salon, which skewers the United States’ idiotic, backwards, counterproductive border policy with Canada, is must-reading for any Buffalonian.

A snippet:

It’s terrible for trade,” he said. “NAFTA was supposed to be so we were all strong — 450 million of us to compete with those guys in Europe. If you go to Europe, it’s wide open. The borders here are not open, but were getting that way. If 9/11 hadn’t happened, it would have been laxer. Seventy-five percent of the time, when I took a bus to see the Tigers, we just breezed through. Now, they stop the bus and board it.”

Like many other Canadians, Mastronardi finds the restrictions insulting. Proudly multicultural, Canada is scrupulous about minority rights. To American border hawks, that makes it a haven for radical Muslims. In February, Chertoff told the New York Daily News that “more than a dozen” potential terrorists have tried to infiltrate the United States from Canada. According to a DHS report, Canada harbors “known terrorist affiliate and extremist groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria.”

Mastronardi scoffed at the idea that the Canada was a haven for radical Muslims. “You’ve got eight million Muslims. We’ve got, what, 800,000?”

This February, I made a trip around the Golden Horseshoe, a cultural and economic region that encompasses the western bell-end of Lake Ontario, from Toronto to Rochester, N.Y. The two sides of the Niagara River have been getting along splendidly ever since the War of 1812 ended. Ontario has the wineries, the Shaw Festival, and the best view of Niagara Falls. New York has the Walden Galleria. The Buffalo Sabres depend on Canadian hockey fans; the Bills are so popular in Canada that they’ll be playing games in Toronto next year. Canadians also cross the border to ski in western New York and fly out of Buffalo-Niagara International Airport.

At Fort Erie Race Track & Slots in Ontario, a popular destination for Americans, Sue, a gambler from Buffalo, was lingering by the slots. “I just carry my birth certificate,” she said. “I got asked coming across. It’s a lot harder going back. They’ll look in your luggage. I saw a group of 80-year-olds, and they had their bags open. It’s not like they’re al-Qaida.”

and

I visited the Soo three years ago. Even then, the border was a serious issue. The DHS would have been a source of derision, with its fleet of Turtle-waxed SUVs and its speedboats churning the river, if it hadn’t make a quick run to Canada such a pain in the ass. “They’re not fighting terrorism,” griped the wife of a Canadian tour boat captain whose business was suffering. “They’re fighting tourism.”

Canadians think the United States has gone all Rambo since 9/11. I found that out on the International Bridge Walk, which starts at Lake Superior State and ends across the river. One morning, I fell in step with David Orazietti, the local member of the Provincial Parliament. Orazietti’s uncle had been captain of the first Lake Superior State hockey team. As a boy, his Pee-Wee hockey squad played in Michigan. So he was worried that a Fortress America would estrange the Soos. The new border-control measures mean that Americans are practically being told to stay home, he said.

At the Canadian end of the bridge, we walked through the border booths, no questions asked. A welcoming committee garlanded us with maple-leaf flags.

This summer, bridge walkers will have to bring birth certificates to celebrate the closeness between the United States and Canada. Next year, passports or the equivalent. It doesn’t make sense to Leisa Mansfield, director of the Sault Chamber of Commerce.

“When you think that the 9/11 attackers were here legally, I doubt a passport is going to protect us against terrorist threats,” she said.

And that’s the point. All of this is sound and fury, signifying nothing. The federal government figures any threat - however minor - must go to eleven, and it has acted accordingly. Octogenarians get searched. All this helps to further retard economic development in border areas like Buffalo and Niagara Falls. It’s bad enough we hamstring ourselves with a despicable state government and lackadaisical county officials. It’s bad enough we keep clinging to past glories rather than plan for future goals. It’s bad enough the state has made itself inhospitable to both business and residents. At least Buffalo is next door to America’s largest trading partner, right? At least Buffalo has all that water, right? Well, the water’s still there, but we’re treating Canada like Mexico, which is disproportionate to the threat.

If we had an ounce of forward thinking, we would, through a bilateral treaty, harmonize entry requirements for Canada and the US. DHS would work in conjunction with Customs Canada at points of entry throughout North America, and border requirements between the two countries would be abolished.

Imagine if we actually installed high-speed rail between a borderless Western New York and Southern Ontario. Hell, you could commute to Toronto from Buffalo or Niagara Falls.

There is so much untapped potential in this city, looking forward. But we have no brand, no goals; instead, we cruise along in an easy mediocrity, and constantly consider what could have been while ignoring what should be.

Falls tourists say they need more amenities, according to this Buffalo News Article. There are plenty of amenities to be had a short walk away - across the bridge. But what if you don’t have a Canadian visa? You’re stuck waiting on the American side, which has no signage, poor transportation, poor information and signage, but some of the finest surface parking in the known universe. Oh, and a Seneca Casino.

Niagara Falls, NY needs better tourism infrastructure? In other news, the sky is blue.

I absolutely love the “Cockpit Chronicles” that American Airlines First Officer Kent Wien posts for Gadling. Based out of Boston’s Logan, Wien chronicles his various whirlwind trips and the life of a commercial pilot for a major airline.

Being a travel junkie myself, I envy his ability to see the world, but don’t envy how much time he spends away from home. And be sure also to check out his Flickr stream.

New York’s Enhanced Driver’s License - it’s fortified with vitamin proof-of-citizenship.

New York is the second state to have an enhanced drivers’ license approved by the Department of duct tape Homeland Security. In order to obtain the new license, you’ll need to present proof of citizenship at your local DMV, and pay $30 on top of the regular charge for a license. In return, you’ll get the new license, which will have your information embedded in an RFID chip, which will be automatically read by the border patrol’s computer.

The licenses will be available beginning in August and will look a bit different from regular licenses. Now, if they could integrate this program into Nexus, it would be teh awesome.

The paranoid lunatic fringe need not apply.

(Photo courtesy Glenda @ Flickr)

Saturday. The weather was a bit chilly, but not ridiculous. It was sunny, for a change. There were loads of people on the Canadian side sightseeing, shopping, and otherwise enjoying themselves.

After crossing the border, I noticed that Frank Parlato’s flash cube was dead.

But the fact that there were no cars parked in his makeshift parking lot one block from the Niagara Falls State Park made the Rainbow Mall all that much more visible.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the second building in from the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, New York. Welcome, friends.

Recall that, pursuant to its contract with the city, Cordish is supposed to maintain this mall as a “first class” facilities. At this point, it’s not first class. It is, instead, akin to being on an empty plane that’s been stripped of its seats, carpeting, upholstery, and amenities. And smeared with feces.

Three things:

1. Congratulations to the Geek family for the announcement of kid number two.

2. Congratulations to the Punaro family for the announcement of kid number one.

3. Geek has a post up soliciting your Buffalo story:

If you left, why did you leave?

Are you planning to move home or have you already taken the plunge? If so, why?

Did you move away and close the book on a future in Buffalo? If so, why?

If you are here and thinking of leaving, why?

If you never lived here before, why did you move here?

In August 2005, I posted this story, which explained in detail why I moved to Western New York. Here it is again, updated for 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

Ontario has them right off the QEW in Fort Erie and in St Catherine’s. There’s also one on the 420 not far from the Rainbow Bridge.

That’s three Provincially-run tourist centers within spitting distance of the border that offer comprehensive tourist information for every region in the Province. They even feature vending, bathrooms, and currency exchange. You can pick up a free map from, and reserve a room through, the friendly people who work there.

Yet on the New York side, there’s nothing. Nothing at the Peace Bridge. Nothing off the Rainbow Bridge. Nothing at the Q-L Bridge. Nothing on Grand Island. Nothing until you hit Angola going west on the I-90, or Pembroke going east. And by the time a visiting Canadian reaches Angola or Pembroke, the attractions in Buffalo and its immediate environs are at least 20 miles behind you in either direction.

For a region that puts so much stock in tourism, whether it be as high-minded as architecture, or as low-brow as sports, that’s shockingly poor.

A couple of years ago, we spent a weekend in Toronto and stayed at the Intercontinental on Bloor just west of Avenue Road, across from the ROM. The skeleton of Daniel Libeskind’s ROM Crystal was just going up at the time, and it looked as if a crane had accidentally dumped a bunch of steel girders, and that they had landed in a somewhat haphazard manner.

It’s now done and open, so we checked it out Saturday afternoon. From the outside, it looks like Salvador Dali got a hold of the plans of the original building and had at them:

From the inside, it’s rather impressive. The best way to describe it is to invite you to remember Superman’s Fortress of Solitude from the 1978 movie. The only thing missing was the green crystal that made Marlon Brando talk.

It’s cool how the building reflects its surroundings:

Here’s a shot of the atrium just inside the ticketing area:

Third floor. Dinosaurs.

It’s one of those areas that’s crowded enough that you’ll wish: (1) you had checked your coat; and (2) you had checked the stroller, too. The Crystal is perfect for this exhibit, because you focus on its details, rather than the building.

This story is an absolute outrage. Yet another in a laundry list in what Andrew Sullivan calls “Cheney’s America”. She’s also got a blog. In Icelandic, so have fun with that. In any event, the story:

During the last twenty-four hours I have probably experienced the greatest humiliation to which I have ever been subjected. During these last twenty-four hours I have been handcuffed and chained, denied the chance to sleep, been without food and drink and been confined to a place without anyone knowing my whereabouts, imprisoned. Now I am beginning to try to understand all this, rest and review the events which began as innocently as possible.

Last Sunday I and a few other girls began our trip to New York. We were going to shop and enjoy the Christmas spirit. We made ourselves comfortable on first class, drank white wine and looked forward to go shopping, eat good food and enjoy life. When we landed at JFK airport the traditional clearance process began.

We were screened and went on to passport control. As I waited for them to finish examining my passport I heard an official say that there was something which needed to be looked at more closely and I was directed to the work station of Homeland Security. There I was told that according to their records I had overstayed my visa by 3 weeks in 1995. For this reason I would not be admitted to the country and would be sent home on the next flight. I looked at the official in disbelief and told him that I had in fact visited New York after the trip in 1995 without encountering any difficulties. A detailed interrogation session ensued.

I was photographed and fingerprinted. I was asked questions which I felt had nothing to do with the issue at hand. I was forbidden to contact anyone to advise of my predicament and although I was invited at the outset to contact the Icelandic consul or embassy, that invitation was later withdrawn. I don’t know why.

Seriously, read the rest. Imagine the horror that this well-to-do Icelandic tourist endured because she had stayed in the US for 95 days in 1995 when she was only supposed to stay 90 days. Now imagine what non-well-to-do, non-Nordic visitors with minor past violations have to put up with.

What’s the point of claiming we stand and fight for freedom when we behave like a police state?

Luckily, at least her government knows how to behave.