sausagefinga Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 There's no facebook or twitter in cuba. ? No internet at all unless you are a pretty powerful person. "The right to use the Internet is granted only to selected people and they are monitored. Connecting to the Internet illegally can lead to a five-year prison sentence." (Wiki) ...it is an oppressive police state, where citizens are denied the right to vote or even to express their political opinions without risk of being thrown in jail or even killed. "All Cuban citizens over 16 who have not been convicted of a criminal offense can vote. Article 131 of the Constitution states that voting shall be "through free, equal and secret vote". (Wiki) If it actually happens in practise though I do not know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T 42 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 you think the Chinese actualy reveal how many people they imprison? No but Amnesty International have a pretty good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fareast Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 What I thought ' said everything ' about Cuba [ even to our own Left Ostriches in the U.K. ] was the fact that when Castro became too ill to rule alone, who should take his place ? Why, Raoul ! Well, what a strange co-oincidence !! After around 40 years of ' democracy ' and a supposedly ' people power ' society, the only geezer out of millions of Cubans who can be trusted to take over, is the Leader's brother ! Echos of the great ' Democratic Republic of N. Korea ' with its own rather special Royal Family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 No it isn't understandable. Forget the 308 million population. 25% of all the people incarcerated in the entire world are incarcerated in the USA. The world includes Russia, Iran, Libya, India, China, North Korea etc etc. The whole 6 1/2 billion of us. Of that world population of 6,500 million, 9.2 million are locked up in jails In the USA of the 308 million. 2.4 million are locked up in jails. Care to explain? How many people are executed for crimes that dont warrant execution in the above countries you mention. You never hear about them and the numbers are unknown because these countries never reveal them. Execute enough of them and that keeps the prison population numbers significantly lower . People dont end up in US jails for nothing. Many of them are violent and dangerous also and probably can never be released in the interests of public safety. You have absolutely nothing like those kind of people in UK prisons Too bad that the American TV series 'Lock Up" isn't available to UK viewing audiences. Reporters are allowed into prisons in various states, some of them high security prisons and permitted to talk to the prisoners and guards. I'm far from squeamish but i think I'd commit Hari Kari if ever I was unfortunate enough to be sentenced to do time in some of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 No internet at all unless you are a pretty powerful person. "The right to use the Internet is granted only to selected people and they are monitored. Connecting to the Internet illegally can lead to a five-year prison sentence." (Wiki) "All Cuban citizens over 16 who have not been convicted of a criminal offense can vote. Article 131 of the Constitution states that voting shall be "through free, equal and secret vote". (Wiki) If it actually happens in practise though I do not know. As Castro once remarked' "You can vote for any political party just as long as it's mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callippo Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 you're falling into the trap of assuming that locking up people is automatically bad. US crime rates have fallen dramatically in recent years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordChaverly Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 Too bad that the American TV series 'Lock Up" isn't available to UK viewing audiences. Reporters are allowed into prisons in various states, some of them high security prisons and permitted to talk to the prisoners and guards. I'm far from squeamish but i think I'd commit Hari Kari if ever I was unfortunate enough to be sentenced to do time in some of them. Oh yes it is Harleyman. Anyone with Sky or cable TV is likely to be very familiar with the US prison system. In addition to 'Lock Up', we get 'America's Hardest Prisons' and several others of a similar nature. My favourite US crime programme is 'The First 48'. It provides a very good insight in my view into an American sub-culture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donkey Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 In other words, for a popular uprising similar to what is happening in various Middle Eastern countries? Although it is on a different continent, Cuba shares many of the characteristics of the dictatorships which are being in the process of being swept away in the Middle East, i.e. it is an oppressive police state, where citizens are denied the right to vote or even to express their political opinions without risk of being thrown in jail or even killed. It is also economically moribund and, like Libya, has been ruled by a megalomaniac for many years. One key difference is a key role in the revolutions happening in the Middle East is being played by the 'Facebook' and 'Twitter' generation. In Cuba, both Facebook and Twitter are both banned and the Castro government keeps a tight rein on citizens' access to the internet. Similarly, citizens are not allowed to leave the country without official approval. Indeed, is this and other respects, Cuba is an even more repressive state than some of those currently undergoing transformation in the Middle East. One thing is for sure though, and that is if there is an uprising in Cuba and Castro seeks to suppress it (as inevitably he would) he could no doubt rely on the support of the ‘Sheffield Socialist Choir’, the court clowns and applause monkeys for one of the most oppressive regimes in the world. Nor can Sheffield City Council absolve itself of its role, however minor, in bolstering this regime by providing support for a forthcoming visit by a Cuban choir (see Jonathanb977’s recent thread on this subject), which can be nothing other than a propaganda arm of the Castro regime. It would be shameful if a single penny of Council taxpayers’ money went to support this event. The Cuban situation is different in two important respects. Mainly in that the 50 year embargo has united the people behind castro (there's nothing like foreign aggression to raise the popularity of a 'strong man'). Secondly that - whereas the Cubans may resemble the Arab dictators in the use of security appartus to quell dissent - apart from that, most of what they do seems to be genuinely for the benefit of the Cuban people. There isn't the widespread pillaging and corruption which middle eastern governments are notorious for, and therefore, the Cunbans are able to provide - under the circumstances - remarkably good services and infrastrucuture, such as universal free health care of a reasonable standard. At the end of the day, Cuba could never have kept running despite no new technology or machinery imports since the early 50s, unless there was coherent, effective government with popular support. That said, I am not implying dictatorship in any form is a good way of governing. Cuba has bucked the trend but - as with all dictatorships - it is only a matter of time before the rot sets in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 As others have said the issue in Egypt was the Neo-liberal policies imposed that on paper increased productivity and GDP but in the reality for the majority of people has redistributed wealth from them to the rich. Admittedly, I don't know the underlying issues in the other middle eastern democracy movements, but it seems likely to have similar origins. In terms of where people will take to the streets next in protest at authoritarian impositions and austerity measures on the poorest. Then as Harleyman pointed out the other day, the people on the streets of Wisconsin and the protests in Ohio and what is expected in 10 or so other states where the Koch brothers are inciting Tea Party Republicans to restrict basic human rights like freedom of association through the scapegoating of public sector workers would probably be the "next" place to be looking. Indeed in Wisconsin the week long demonstrations are in progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordChaverly Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 At the end of the day, Cuba could never have kept running despite no new technology or machinery imports since the early 50s, unless there was coherent, effective government with popular support. QUOTE] With all due respect, donkey, this is complete nonsense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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