My point in this thread is to state that the brush isn't always "false". You began this thread with how awesome it was to be in Cuba because their doctors are well-trained.
More mischaracterizations. Tell me you're at least aware that you're doing this. I started this thread with the article, said nothing about "how awesome it was to be in Cuba", and before I said a word about doctors you chimed in with an absolutely ridiculous assertion about Venezuelan elections and Saddam .. which you must have already known how ridiculous that was. In other words, YOU knowingly mischaracterized Venezuelan elections to make a false point. If you didn't already know the difference between elections in Iraq and elections in Venezuela, I'm not sure you have enough information to even be having this conversation. .. Seriously.
Even Motley correctly called what you said a "gross exaggeration" .. and I proved it. You even acknowledged it later and said "Chavez wins valid elections." So why mischarcterize it in the first place?
There is nothing in that statement that recognized any need for reform in Cuba. As I said I could almost hear the Angel Track of the CD in your head playing as you renounced the "falsehood"... one that wasn't "false" just contrary to how you want people to think of Cuba.
... he did the same thing in Cuba and dramatically improved the lives of average Cubans. They have some of the best doctors in the world and their infant mortality and literacy rates are better than ours. Wasn't even close before Castro came to power.
Guess what my brother? There's not a single word in that statement that is untrue .. AND, I backed it up with evidence from the WHO and the goddamn CIA. Not a single fucking word that was untrue, but you have problems with it. You didn't say it in any of your comments while you gave a false depiction of elections. Why is that?
You hearing Angel tracks in your head must be the drugs .. I don't even know what an Angel track is.
Throughout this thread I have consistently acknowledged there are still problems in Venezuela and Cuba, but you don't seem believe truth has any place in this conversation.
When Dano said their healthcare wasn't free, you didn't correct him, I did.
When Top spouted off some unintelligent bullshit about "third world elections", you didn't correct that bullshit, I did. Brazil has the best election system in the world. Anyone want to challenge that .. step right up .. but you better know software and operating systems before you jump in.
My point .. you didn't have any problems with mischaracterizations, including your own. Was I supposed to allow that shit to go unchallenged? Is that how intelligent debate works? Just flow with the crowd?
So far I've been consistent. Not only do they need to "fix a few things", but that vaunted health care is largely for those who pay in cash (the tourists who come solely for the well-trained doctors do in fact pay for their care) and the elite, the treatment for the regular man is not nearly as positive an experience. Nothing at all in your original statement of praise for Cuba and it's awesome (angels singing) health care made anybody even think once that there might be reasons that people might think they don't want to live there.
There really is a reason that so many otherwise law abiding people would take desperate measures to get somewhere else (not always the US) than where they live and it isn't the awesome pleasantness brought on by the very few things they do "well" by your estimation. They are sick and tired of being left out of access to the rest of the world and weary of the government restrictions, fearful, you say because their leader is "paranoid" but in reality it is because of very real tragedies that will come down on them when they act in a way that isn't sanctioned.
I'd prefer to live in a place with a prison industry than a place where the prison is only slightly less restrictive than my regular life (yes an exaggeration but not by much), and be that as it may so would many Cubans. I like being able to go downtown without seeing huge head shots of our leaders proclaiming how great they are.
Do I think I have it better than most Cubans? Heck, yes. Do I think we should work towards a more open trade? You bet I do. But we shouldn't do it by denying what we see and hear from the people we know and love. (At least what I see and hear from the people I know and love).
What you or I prefer to do or how we prefer to live has nothing whatsoever to do with the rest of the world. ZERO. You do not have their experiences .. no foreign nation dictates what your government should do .. (with the exception of Israel of course) .. no foreign government asassinates your leaders or overthrows your democratically elected government .. YET, you still don't live in heaven. America has problems up the ass and most Americans don't have a clue where truth lies.
If you are truly interested in better relations with places like Cuba, you should ask yourself why it's so difficult for you to speak truthfully about Cuba. The truth of Cuba, Venezuela, and socialism can not be found in just looking at the problems.
