Hilton slammed in Oslo for Cuba embargo
MrBrian
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By DOUG MELLGREN, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jan 5, 7:59 AM ET
OSLO, Norway - An Oslo hotel owned by the U.S.-based Hilton Hotel Corp. faced protests, a boycott and a police complaint this week after refusing to book rooms for a Cuban delegation because of the United States' trade embargo against Cuba.
The Cuban delegation, set to attend a travel fair in Oslo this month, planned to stay at the Scandic Edderkoppen Hotel in the city center, as they had on five previous visits.
However, the 140-hotel Scandic company was bought by Hilton in March, and the Cubans were informed in December that they would have to find another hotel due to the American boycott.
On Friday, the 300,000-member Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees announced that it was boycotting all Scandic hotels in Norway, joining a wave of protests that started when the ban on Cuban guest became news on Thursday.
"We are already looking for other hotels for planned conferences," said the union's deputy leader Anne Grethe Skaardal. "For us, it is unacceptable for the U.S. to dictate to the whole world. In addition, we strongly oppose the U.S. boycott of Cuba."
The Anti-Racist Center in Oslo filed a police complaint against the hotels, saying Norwegian law ensures that "no one can be denied access based on their citizenship or ethnic origin."
Christina Karlegran, regional spokeswoman for Hilton and Scandic, said Hilton is an American company and is bound by the Cuba embargo.
"We have to follow American law," she said by telephone from Stockholm, Sweden. "We can't see that we have broken any Swedish or Norwegian law. ... If it turns out to be illegal, we will address that."
The Foreign Ministry said companies operating in Norway have to obey Norwegian law, regardless of their home base. It said other agencies would have to determine what laws apply in this case.
In a news release, Norway's most powerful labor union, the 830,000 member Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, demanded that "the government take steps so that companies like Scandic, which clearly abide by the United States' illegal boycott and blockade and not Norwegian law, are barred from doing business in Norway
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070105/ap_on_bi_ge/norway_hilton_1
Fri Jan 5, 7:59 AM ET
OSLO, Norway - An Oslo hotel owned by the U.S.-based Hilton Hotel Corp. faced protests, a boycott and a police complaint this week after refusing to book rooms for a Cuban delegation because of the United States' trade embargo against Cuba.
The Cuban delegation, set to attend a travel fair in Oslo this month, planned to stay at the Scandic Edderkoppen Hotel in the city center, as they had on five previous visits.
However, the 140-hotel Scandic company was bought by Hilton in March, and the Cubans were informed in December that they would have to find another hotel due to the American boycott.
On Friday, the 300,000-member Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees announced that it was boycotting all Scandic hotels in Norway, joining a wave of protests that started when the ban on Cuban guest became news on Thursday.
"We are already looking for other hotels for planned conferences," said the union's deputy leader Anne Grethe Skaardal. "For us, it is unacceptable for the U.S. to dictate to the whole world. In addition, we strongly oppose the U.S. boycott of Cuba."
The Anti-Racist Center in Oslo filed a police complaint against the hotels, saying Norwegian law ensures that "no one can be denied access based on their citizenship or ethnic origin."
Christina Karlegran, regional spokeswoman for Hilton and Scandic, said Hilton is an American company and is bound by the Cuba embargo.
"We have to follow American law," she said by telephone from Stockholm, Sweden. "We can't see that we have broken any Swedish or Norwegian law. ... If it turns out to be illegal, we will address that."
The Foreign Ministry said companies operating in Norway have to obey Norwegian law, regardless of their home base. It said other agencies would have to determine what laws apply in this case.
In a news release, Norway's most powerful labor union, the 830,000 member Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, demanded that "the government take steps so that companies like Scandic, which clearly abide by the United States' illegal boycott and blockade and not Norwegian law, are barred from doing business in Norway
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070105/ap_on_bi_ge/norway_hilton_1
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ever hear of a lil event called the cuban missile crisis. o yea, thats when cuban allowed russia to use its land to point nukes at the US.
Ever hear of 2007?
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but, we're supposed to learn from the past...and remember the past...to shape the things we do today in 2007...oh, how handily the double standard is used
from my window to yours
Unless 'lil Kim or the nutjob from Iran sets up shop in Cuba why are we still afraid of them?
As do I. The US acted like a brat who didn't get his way.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
no but as long as castro is alive things wont change. jury is still out on his brother who appears to be the next dictator
I'm dying to know your point. well not really
Pretty strong words, we better invade them.
of course you people do. still not sure why so many of you live in america when you cheer for the other guy, everytime.
Change for Cuba will come in the form of a mc donalds on every corner and americans getting rich off of the cuban people. If people think that Fidel exploits the cubans, wait until american corporations take over.
I'm not cheering for anything. I don't like the US policy toward Cuba in 2007. 20, 30, 40 years ago I understand it. But now? Come on.
mc donalds huh? typical. how about the hundreds of luxury resorts and million dollar condos. and thousands of americans vacationing there.
american money would give your average cuba wealth they never could imagine
They want to change it for the better,why should they leave? also the reason for supporting "the other guy" is because the "other guy" if often in the right.
So we should not be so blind by the red,white and blue, stand up for what is right .
Like the avg american? american needs to worry about it's own people, leave cuba alone. let them sort themselves out.
ok let them sort it out and live under a new dictator that makes the cuban people suffer in poverty. why do you think they back 50 people in a 10 man boat to get here?
not really sure what point you are trying to make. I am saying if they lived in a democracy and didnt still consider america the enemy, cubans would be alot better off. but you think just a mcdonalds would pop up and no real progress would be made. and the american corporate machine would squash them.
I'll take off the red white and blue sunglasses when you take off your blindfold k?
I'm not saying that life in Cuba is great, far from it. But again, these problems are the problems for the cubans, not america. America should worry about themselves, stop screwing around with everyone one else.
get it?
I love how america quickly get's all righteous when it fits them. dictator this, evil whatever that.
how is america screwing with them? because we arent friends with a dictator who is sworn enemy of the US?
we are righteous compared to dictators and evil doers. you dont agree? not surprised
I guess it's just an American thing.
Have you read this thread? Through the embargo and numerous travel restrictions.
There is nothing wrong with Americans or American corporations wanting to do business in Cuba. However, if it leads to Cuba once again selling out its economy and political affairs to the United States....it will just lead to another revolution. As it did in 1959.
Don't preach to me about the history between the US and Cuba. My parents are from Cuba. The Cuban missle crisis was over 40 years ago. the Cold War ended of 20 years ago. I think it's time for the stupid embargo to be put to bed. Here's a big news falsh to the government, IT DIDN'T WORK. It didn't work in the 60's. It didn't work in the 70's, 80's, 90's and it's still not working in this decade.
Not that I'm a Castro sympathizer but do you have any idea about US/Cuban relations. Do you know what happened during the Cuban revolution and why Castro turned to the Soviet Union?
Really. Did you know any Cuban who lived under the Batista regime? do you realize that the only difference between Castro and the previous Cuban dictators, because they where dictators, was that they bowed to US interest and the cost of their own people. Your average Cuban will not get dick squat if Cuba was under US influence. The only change in their life will be the ability to complain about their shitty lives.
Did you know that after the Spanish American War the US placed Cuba under a 20 year trustship. Roosevelt however voided the trustship and granted Cuba it's independence. However the US demanded that it be written in the Cuban constitution that the US has the right to interfere in Cuban affairs and has the power to oversee the countries finances and foreign relations. This was something that the majority of the Cuban popiulation was against but the US back president Tomás Estrada Palma backed. Cuba has never truely had it's independence because the US always had the right to intervene in it's affairs.
Here is some more for you. Originally when Castro seized control the Eisenhower administration welcomed Batista's fall. It wasn't under the nationalization of US owned companies and many influencial Cubans with connection to D.C. did the US' view of Fidel sour. These Cuban exiles formed a power lobby group that weilded a lot of influence in Washington. During this time the US government didn't even consider Castro a Communist but they did realize that Che Guevera was a communist and he was drawing Castro closer to affiliating hmself with Cuban Communist. It's at this time that the US turned to hostilities toward Castro which caused him to run into the arms of the Communist and eventually the Soviet Union.
So any hostilities between the two countries was initiated by the US not Cuba.
and United Fruit...
Yes you are correct.
Oh, oh. Me sorry. Coo-ba Evil. Ug ug, gooba gooba.
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