Castro steps down!! :^)

[roosterjuicer]

He's not all bad.

Cuba has much better healthcare then the States... but thats not really much of an accomplishment i suppose.

He's pretty much all bad. I can tell you firsthand that paying for your own medical care is a lot better than living in Cuba.

in addition to killing you if you speak against him as someone stated earlier people in cuba are hungry. i have been there several times and i speak relatively often with family members out there and they have to ration everything there. a perfect example of this is before castro "communized" everything she used to have a lot of pet birds but shortly after castro the birds all died because according to her, "birds dont have ration cards". people there have no freedom, no technology, most dont have tv's or cars. there are constant rolling blackouts, the streets are decrepid, there are very few parts available to fix anything when it breaks, and although there are tons of great beaches there most of them are off limits to Cubans and reserved for tourists, the same goes for restaurants and airports. People there have nothing to strive for, nothing to work for, no reason to do much more than the bare minimum to survive. having decent food is a much better way to stay healthy than free medical care.

And yes, everyone gets free healthcare but you have to wait for rediculously long ammounts of time and the medical care is very substandard compared to what we get here when it comes to surgery and stuff like that. if you ever need to get something serious done, you can forget about it due to lack of technology, poor training and just an overall broken system...but its free.

[Jack_Bauer]

in addition to killing you if you speak against him as someone stated earlier people in cuba are hungry. i have been there several times and i speak relatively often with family members out there and they have to ration everything there. a perfect example of this is before castro "communized" everything she used to have a lot of pet birds but shortly after castro the birds all died because according to her, "birds dont have ration cards". people there have no freedom, no technology, most dont have tv's or cars. there are constant rolling blackouts, the streets are decrepid, there are very few parts available to fix anything when it breaks, and although there are tons of great beaches there most of them are off limits to Cubans and reserved for tourists, the same goes for restaurants and airports. People there have nothing to strive for, nothing to work for, no reason to do much more than the bare minimum to survive. having decent food is a much better way to stay healthy than free medical care.

It should be noted that the economic struggles of Cuba are largely down to the crippling economic and commercial embargo imposed by the United States since 1962; an embargo which has long since been widely condemned by most of the international community. Cubans struggle to get their hands on good quality health supplies and food stuffs because they are unable to get them from America.

Also, comparing things to how Cuba was prior to Castro is not a wise argument. Things were arguably considerably worse under the rule of Batista, both in terms of political suppression and human rights abuses, and in terms of the general welfare of the Cuban people.

[Matra et Alpine]

He's pretty much all bad. I can tell you firsthand that paying for your own medical care is a lot better than living in Cuba.

Unless you're getting old or are under 5 perhaps ?

According to the World Health Organisation a Cuban man can expect to live to 75 and a woman to 79. The probability of a child dying aged under five is five per 1,000 live births. That is better than the US and on a par with the UK.
Cuba provides a doctor for every 170 residents, ahead of the US where the ratio is 1 to 188.

an overall broken system

The real numbers suggest it ain't broke

and .....
BBC NEWS | Business | Medical know-how boosts Cuba's wealth
clearly being regarded outside of Suba too

Perhaps too much Fox News and anti-Moore bias ?
Hey, I agree Moore is a manipulative, distorting lens on every program he's ever made. BUT that doesn't make the core information erroneous

[wwgkd]

He'll kill you for speaking your mind... Pretty damn bad if you ask me.

Hehe, true, but at least that will get rid of any diseases you may have had.

[magracer]

Only good things can happen with Castro stepping down. He's leaving a "democratic" system in place, so, I guess we'll soon see if the people love Raul as much as Fidel (I think not). We'll also see if what held together the revolution was the icon (Fidel), or the goodness of the system. Weird thing is that even if they have to cue for food (crapy food that is), they love the guy, but I think that is because they don't know anything else.

A few random thoughts:
1. They do have a very strong health system, and very good doctors, who earn all of USD$20 a month (or something close to that).
2. The problem with communism, is that there is still a ruling class that enjoys all the rewards of capitalism, so not everybody is equal.
3. The problem with government managing all markets is that there are always parallel markets that reap rewards for the crooked ones (very often in the government) at the expense of the civilians.
4. I'd too impose an embargo if someone allowed missiles pointed towards me to be installed in their backyard.

[MadMax13]

I only call them "haters" because under Castro has been MILES better than Batista. Cuba isnt great now but at least EVERYONE has access to healthcare, an education and other luxuries that only the Americans and the rich had under Batista...

[MadMax13]

Only good things can happen with Castro stepping down. He's leaving a "democratic" system in place, so, I guess we'll soon see if the people love Raul as much as Fidel (I think not). We'll also see if what held together the revolution was the icon (Fidel), or the goodness of the system. Weird thing is that even if they have to cue for food (crapy food that is), they love the guy, but I think that is because they don't know anything else.

A few random thoughts:
1. They do have a very strong health system, and very good doctors, who earn all of USD$20 a month (or something close to that).
2. The problem with communism, is that there is still a ruling class that enjoys all the rewards of capitalism, so not everybody is equal.
3. The problem with government managing all markets is that there are always parallel markets that reap rewards for the crooked ones (very often in the government) at the expense of the civilians.
4. I'd too impose an embargo if someone allowed missiles pointed towards me to be installed in their backyard.

Communism only contains a ruling class because the leader of the country isnt a REAL Communist, Socialist, etc.. And dont be stupid, embargos effect no one but the general population, the assholes, like Kim Jong Il, still enjoy lavish lives while the people suffocate...

[MadMax13]

This is weird. I had thought that all Cubans loved Castro. It's a wrong stereotype for me to assume that.

But, I guess I can relate to your hatred of your country's former leader. I am first generation Chinese, and I hate Mao Zedong probably just as much as you hate Castro.

No, the majority of the people that DONT like Castro were the middle and upper classes, the ones that had access to the shit the poor and the working classes DIDNT, not to mention those that lived outside Havana, in the hills. As far as Mao, dont compare Mao to Castro, Mao was a cunt that ruled through fear and propaganda, Mao ran China into the ground while Castro built Cuba up for the have nots...

[magracer]

Castro built Cuba up for the have nots...

Have you been to cuba? I have. Have you spoken to anybody born and raised in Cuba. I have.
Have you lived in Cuba? I haven't, but one of my closest friends did for six months.
From where I see it, he only made it better for the have nots by converting everybody (that isn't in the government) into a have not.

EVERYONE has access to healthcare, an education and other luxuries that only the Americans and the rich had under Batista... ...

Yes, good healthcare...

So tell me now, how does being well educated serves you if you earn a pittance (do a search, USD$10 to $20 a month, plus stamps ) , and you can' t even travel overseas to apply to a better job. Hell, you don't even have access to the internet! Yes, unemployment is below 2%, but agian, they pay $20 bucks a month for an educated employee!!!

I can tell you they don't even have access to candy, so what "other luxuries" are you talking about?

Ok, so Batista was a dictator, and he stole and he was bad, but the revolution's solution was to put another dictator (49 years for gods sake!) in place, and for the people to loose all notions of freedom.

[MadMax13]

Have you been to cuba? I have. Have you spoken to anybody born and raised in Cuba. I have.
Have you lived in Cuba? I haven't, but one of my closest friends did for six months.
From where I see it, he only made it better for the have nots by converting everybody (that isn't in the government) into a have not.




Yes, good healthcare...

So tell me now, how does being well educated serves you if you earn a pittance (do a search, USD$10 to $20 a month, plus stamps ) , and you can' t even travel overseas to apply to a better job. Hell, you don't even have access to the internet! Yes, unemployment is below 2%, but agian, they pay $20 bucks a month for an educated employee!!!

I can tell you they don't even have access to candy, so what "other luxuries" are you talking about?

Ok, so Batista was a dictator, and he stole and he was bad, but the revolution's solution was to put another dictator (49 years for gods sake!) in place, and for the people to loose all notions of freedom.

Been to Cuba, as has most of my family. It didnt convert everyone into a have not, it converted the filthy ****ing rich into the average man, everyones equal instead of an upper class exploiting the working. As far as education its the basics they were being denied, before the revolution the VAST MAJORITY of the people living outside of Havana could neither read nor write, thats not counting the ones that didnt have an education IN Havana. Dont forget that $20 a month is livable in Cuba, while $300-$600 is not in the US. And candy, lol, icecream, once reserved for only the rich, is now accessable to everyone...

[aNOBLEman]

Been to Cuba, as has most of my family. It didnt convert everyone into a have not, it converted the filthy ****ing rich into the average man, everyones equal instead of an upper class exploiting the working. As far as education its the basics they were being denied, before the revolution the VAST MAJORITY of the people living outside of Havana could neither read nor write, thats not counting the ones that didnt have an education IN Havana. Dont forget that $20 a month is livable in Cuba, while $300-$600 is not in the US. And candy, lol, icecream, once reserved for only the rich, is now accessable to everyone...

If you were really rich would you enjoy being turned into an "average man?" Also I do not believe that every rich person out there is exploiting the poorer people. People can become rich and still be nice believe it or not.

[The_Canuck]

Why in gods name would Cuban's regularily risk their lives floating to florida on boats made of cars from the 50's, if Cuba was an even remotely good place to live for the common man?

[kingofthering]

Been to Cuba, as has most of my family. It didnt convert everyone into a have not, it converted the filthy ****ing rich into the average man, everyones equal instead of an upper class exploiting the working.

How would you feel if I yanked every cent you had, burned down your house, and destroyed your goods in the name of converting you into an average man?

Exactly

The rich may be assholes, but they still have feelings.

[MadMax13]

How would you feel if I yanked every cent you had, burned down your house, and destroyed your goods in the name of converting you into an average man?

Exactly

The rich may be assholes, but they still have feelings.

I AM THE AVERAGE ****ING MAN!!!. When the top 6% or so own 97% of the wealth i think seizing and redistributing the wealth is a pretty good ****ing idea. Put that on top of a national health system, which is the leading cause of poverty in the US, and guaranteed college education id be a much happier man...

[kingofthering]

I AM THE AVERAGE ****ING MAN!!!. When the top 6% or so own 97% of the wealth i think seizing and redistributing the wealth is a pretty good ****ing idea. Put that on top of a national health system, which is the leading cause of poverty in the US, and guaranteed college education id be a much happier man...

You don't get it, do you? How would you feel if I took everything you had and handed it down to whatever hobo walked in front? Would you still be happy?

As nice as socialized health care is, I don't think the United States is ready for it yet. So is guaranteed college is good, as long both are it's kept to legal residents only.