Debate: Cuba

[disneyfan67]

I agree with a lot of things you said except this. Hugo Chavez does NOT have the guts to try to position himself in Cuba to become a threat. Remember, we have military presence on the island (Guantanamo Bay) and Im pretty sure we have the rest of the island covered in terms of military intelligence. If he even tried to start moving some muscle over, we will intercept it.

Hugo Chavez is not only a thug but a complete fool as well. Never underestimate the lengths of stupidity a fool will strive to achive. He's intoxicated by the attention he recieves from people and the nations who despise the U.S.A. I wouldn't doubt that he's bent on getting a nuclear weapon and I wouldn't put it past the cash strapped, corrupt Russian goverment to secretly sell him one. God only knows what they have or are willing to sell. I would love to see what Putin sold him for 3 billion dollars and what Hugo plans on doing with it.

I think that Hugo Chavez would just love to get control of Cuba for two reasons. One is to embarrass the U.S. and be more of a thorn in our side than he is already. The other is oil and Cuba just announced that they are starting to explore for oil, off their own coast. It costs a lot of money to explore for oil and Hugo is more than willing to provide it, I'll bet. I wonder what his cut will be?

 

[Chuck S]

I think the US needs to at least initiate some limited diplomatic contact now, to at least have our foot in the door when Castro does eventually die. Otherwise, the US is likely to be on the outside looking in at what could be a big economic opportunity as far as both travel and oil.

 

[RitaZ.]

I don't think any people that can't freely express their opinions without threat of jail, torture, or both are not truly happy or free. I may be wrong about the Cuban people and they might choose goverment provided health care and education over basic freedoms that many Americans take for granted. They have been basicly provided for and told what to think, do, and say for decades. That type of mentality is hard to overcome and if Cuba does finally rid it self of Castro and his crew, they have a long, hard road to travel if they want to choose Democracy. Part of me thinks they won't, I do hope I'm wrong on that one though.

The only people who gained in the Cuban Revolution is Castro and his crew. Castro is a very rich man and has enjoyed absolute power for many decades. His people on the other hand don't come close to living as well. That's probably one of the many reasons people risk death on makeshift rafts to reach the U.S.A. Usually that's how those "Worker or People's Revolutions" end up. Leaders get it most of feast and the litte people end up with scraps. In the end, "Power to the People" is just a slogan.

I agree.

If so many Cubans are happy, then why do so many want to come here and risk their lives to do so? If you've noticed, the ones taking the risk are young people, the younger generation isn't happy either. No doubt that Castro has his supporters and disciples, all dictators have/had them. As for those large crowds that you saw when he gave speeches at La Plaza de la Revolucion, many of them were there by force. I remember how civilians were recruited for these speeches, they were forced to get in a truck, like sardines, to go and cheer Fidel.

I lived 15 years in Cuba, there are many stories that I can share about my own experiences. Like when Seguridad de Estado came to arrest my father in the middle of the night and I was a young child, visiting my father in prison when we were allowed, being called gusana(worm) when I walked to my friend's house (people would actually come out of their homes to yell insults at me), being rejected by friends because their parents were commie and we weren't, eating rice and eggs every day because that's all we had and practically growing up without my father because he was a political prisoner. If you ask my mom, she'll tell you about attempting to visit my father in prison, Boniato in Oriente, and being forced to walk through a plaza where political prisoners were executed; there was blood everywhere. She has said that one of the women in the group was pregnant and she later found out that her husband had been executed. Surprisingly, free healthcare and education didn't erase those memories nor made them less painful. My mom is an amazing woman, I don't know if I could handle all the pain and suffering that she endured.

A newsperson for Channel 10, her name is Glenna Milberg, just returned from Cuba and she shared her brief experience on the island. She was detained for 15 hours in Jose Marti airport. She was told several lies by the Cuban authorities, nothing new there. She wasn't allowed to leave the airport, but she did get to speak to some of the airport staff/personnel. She had a copy of The Miami Herald in her bags and asked the man that searched them if he wanted to read it; the front page showed pictures of the celebrations in Miami. The man declined her offer. When she told him that she is a reporter, he asked her if she really could report anything she wanted on the news. She told him that as long as it was true and could be verified, then she could. She was invited to return to Cuba as a tourist, but not as a reporter.

The Cuba that tourists see is not the "real" Cuba. Communism sounds great in theory, but it stinks in practice.

For anyone interested in reading the reporter's own words, just follow the link: http://www.local10.com/news/9624255/detail.html

 

[declansdad]

I agree.

If so many Cubans are happy, then why do so many want to come here and risk their lives to do so? If you've noticed, the ones taking the risk are young people, the younger generation isn't happy either. No doubt that Castro has his supporters and disciples, all dictators have/had them. As for those large crowds that you saw when he gave speeches at La Plaza de Revolucion, many of them were there by force. I remember how civilians were recruited for these speeches, they were forced to get in a truck, like sardines, to go and cheer Fidel.

I lived 15 years in Cuba, there are many stories that I can share about my own experiences. Like when Seguridad de Estado came to arrest my father in the middle of the night and I was a young child, visiting my father in prison when we were allowed, being called gusana(worm) when I walked to my friend's house (people would actually come out of their homes to yell insults at me), being rejected by friends because their parents were commie and we weren't, eating rice and eggs every day because that's all we had and practically growing up without my father because he was a political prisoner. If you ask my mom, she'll tell you about attempting to visit my father in prison, Boniato in Oriente, and being forced to walk through a plaza where political prisoners were executed; there was blood everywhere. She has said that one of the women in the group was pregnant and she later found out that her husband had been executed. Surprisingly, free healthcare and education didn't erase those memories nor made them less painful. My mom is an amazing woman, I don't know if I could handle all the pain and suffering that she endured.

A newsperson for Channel 10, her name is Glenna Milberg, just returned from Cuba and she shared her brief experience on the island. She was detained for 15 hours in Jose Marti's airport. She was told several lies by the Cuban authorities, nothing new there. She wasn't allowed to leave the airport, but she did get to speak to some of the airport staff/personnel. She had a copy of the Miami Herald in her bags and asked the man that searched them if he wanted to read it; the front page showed pictures of the celebrations in Miami. The man declined her offer. When she told him that she was reporter, he asked her if she really could report anything she wanted on the news. She told him that as long as it was true and could be verified, then she could. She was invited to return to Cuba as a tourist, but not as a reporter.

The Cuba that tourists see is not the "real" Cuba. Communism sounds great in theory, but it stinks in practice.

I am glad you posted your experiences and sorry that you had to go through it at the same time. Since you have actually lived in Cuba, your opinion carries more weight in my mind.

 

[LukenDC]

Hugo Chavez is not only a thug but a complete fool as well. Never underestimate the lengths of stupidity a fool will strive to achive.

I agree 100%. I am astounded at the level of immaturity that Chavez displays while prentending to be a statesman. His big mouth has caused a lot of problems between Venezuela and its neighbors. Only the North Korean leaders come close to Chavez with their bomastic rhetoric, but Chavez still gets the ****y prize for being a fool.

 

[dcentity2000]

I'm thinkin'... DisneyISLAND!!

I'm in



Rich::

 

[sodaseller]

Cuba is home to wonderful society that has been broken by a remorseless tyrant. It can again achieve status as a vibrant society with much to offer but Iraq has reconfirmed that even a nation with an educate entrepreneurial class can be broken by years of oppression. Iraq has also taught us that exiles have no credibility among the population when they return after the fall. Unfortunately, I think we are destined to relearn that lesson, as the a strong core of the Cuban exile community is only marginally more moral than the tyrant Castro himself. I think they will cash in their political chips here and return to "reclaim" land they owned before pursuant to a legal system they will all but control, and suck away immense US subsidies via immense pervasive graft as they "rebuild". That will retraumatize the populace, before any equilibrium and progress is noted. Hope I am wrong.

 

[aunt kelly]

I lived 15 years in Cuba, there are many stories that I can share about my own experiences. Like when Seguridad de Estado came to arrest my father in the middle of the night and I was a young child, visiting my father in prison when we were allowed, being called gusana(worm) when I walked to my friend's house (people would actually come out of their homes to yell insults at me), being rejected by friends because their parents were commie and we weren't, eating rice and eggs every day because that's all we had and practically growing up without my father because he was a political prisoner. If you ask my mom, she'll tell you about attempting to visit my father in prison, Boniato in Oriente, and being forced to walk through a plaza where political prisoners were executed; there was blood everywhere. She has said that one of the women in the group was pregnant and she later found out that her husband had been executed. Surprisingly, free healthcare and education didn't erase those memories nor made them less painful. My mom is an amazing woman, I don't know if I could handle all the pain and suffering that she endured.

Rita, thanks for sharing your story. I am so thankful to live in a country where we are free to exercise basic freedoms like freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of assembly. It is so easy to take those freedoms for granted until we here stories like yours.

 

[disneyfan67]

Thank you Rita Z for that excellent post of yours. I'm also sorry as well that you had to deal with the pain you described living in Cuba under Castro. My father joined the U.S Navy in 1951 and through out the 1950's he was stationed in Cuba several times when it was under Batista's control. In fact he was on the last Navy approved bus that was allowed to go into town around 1958 or so. Castro's men had stopped several buses in the past and were looking for people they deemed enemies of the state in the days before Batista's goverment fell. Finally the Navy had enough and wouldn't allow the saliors to go into town and kept them on or near the base. My dad has some interesting stories to tell and pictures of Cuba before Castro had taken over.

Thank you again for your story and input to this discussion, Rita Z.

 

[RitaZ.]

Thanks for the compliments.

I'm so eager to see what's going to happen in Cuba... I'd like to visit one day. I want my husband and children to see where I grew up. I want to see my extended family again, most of them are still there.

 

[Lanshark]

Rita

Thank you so much for posting to the thread.

 

[RitaZ.]

Rita

Thank you so much for posting to the thread.