A new era begins for Cuba

[Abomb-baby]

I believe this thread is about Cuba so perhaps it would be better discussed in the other topic.

 

[BorderGirl]

True. And they left (usually) because they were personally affected by La Revolucion.

It's really difficult to ascertain what the common view is with regards to Fidel, people are too afraid to speak up.
*I* think they resent him for not having much freedom, money, food, etc but enjoy the free housing, education and health care.

Here's what "La Revolucion" amounted to......

"The alternative to obedience was complete social exclusion: "For fear of losing his job, the schoolteacher teaches things he does not believe; fearing for his future, the pupil repeats them after him; for fear of not being allowed to continue his studies, the young man joins the Youth League and participates in whatever of its activities are necessary; fear that under the monstrous system of political credits, his son or daughter will not acquire the necessary total of points for enrolment at a school, leads the father to take on all manner of responsibilities and "voluntarily" to do everything required." The overall illusion created, wrote Havel, was of a society completely united behind its leadership."

(This was written by Vaclaz Havel in his "Letter to Husak" in 1975, Prague. His and other dissident voices paved the way for the fall of the Berlin wall and the end of communism in Europe.
Fidel's rule is ending less dramatic, more like a fizzle.)

The letter was a passionate appeal for a halt to the process which the communists euphemistically called "normalization", under which the population was bullied into accepting the new order through fear. The letter is a brilliant description of the time.....
Using a carrot-and-stick method, the communists offered material security in return for quiet obedience."

This info. came from:
w w w. radio.cz/en/article/36022

 

[ladywithspinninghead]

Yeah, it's a complete farce.

Most Cubans either have a pic of Fideo or Che in their house so they're not considered dissidents by the government (I've heard 1 in 7 Cubans are informers but read elsewhere it's 1 in 27).

In the countryside, there are huge billboards which read "Patria o Meurte" and "Socialismo o muerte". The whole idea of La Revolucion is shoved down their throats. Would make Goebbels proud

 

[Dreadsox]

Because we all know conservatives hate dialog. Push them out or attack them before asking questions.

 

[Dreadsox]

Having worked closely with a survivor of the Bay of Pigs for years, I can only say that from his point of view, the US should have taken Castro out years ago.

 

[Infinity]

How are these statements helpful to civil debate? Yeah I remember a certain conservative president who went to great lengths to have dialog with certain communist leader. I think some positive things came from those meetings, mainly the end of communism in the USSR and the cold war.

Yea thats how it used to be. The USSR had 40,000 nuclear weapons and was the largest country in the world and yet all we needed was dialogue. Sadly, nowadays the new breed of Republicans are all about "do what we ask for, or we bomb, and if you do what we ask for, we might still bomb." I'm really hoping for Russia, India and China to be great superpowers in the next 50 years. It will shut America's mouth up.

 

[BVS]

Oh, come on I didn't mean this... I'm just tired of conservatives attacking, bitching, and moaning about diplomacy. Many conservatives these days are trying their hardest to make certain great words into dirty words. And I'm just sick of it.

 

[Dreadsox]

never mind

 

[Vincent Vega]

Yea thats how it used to be. The USSR had 40,000 nuclear weapons and was the largest country in the world and yet all we needed was dialogue. Sadly, nowadays the new breed of Republicans are all about "do what we ask for, or we bomb, and if you do what we ask for, we might still bomb." I'm really hoping for Russia, India and China to be great superpowers in the next 50 years. It will shut America's mouth up.

I'm not feeling that comfortable about Russia or China being superpowers.
Also, it's quite an oversimplification to say that "all we needed was dialogue" for the USSR to collapse.

 

[MadelynIris]

Oh, come on I didn't mean this... I'm just tired of conservatives attacking, bitching, and moaning about diplomacy. Many conservatives these days are trying their hardest to make certain great words into dirty words. And I'm just sick of it.

Someone on this board no doubt?

 

[BVS]

Someone on this board no doubt?

More than one...

 

[BorderGirl]

Ah Cuba, what a country......In Cuba there is no name-calling like there is here.......
There are no "liberals" to box up, or "conservatives" to bring to task. Everyone is equal. Castro has been seeing to that for almost 50 years. What a sweetie.

"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries."

Winston Churchill