A friend recently posted an article off of yahoo news. I strongly suggest reading it and comparing that against another, from a Cuban reporter. Great and Glorious? I guess we'll see.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070724/hl_nm/cuba_usa_doctors_dc
This is a news article about the recent graduation of 8 U.S. students from Castro's "free" education system. In exchange for this service, they are to commit themselves to going back home to treat the "underserved." Obviously, this is just a good guy from a great country trying to help the poor around the world. The great humanitarian socialist, Fidel Castro. The article writes that this is part of the Cuban government's plan to export doctors to poorer countries, like Venezuela or Bolivia, as well as to train their own citizens to do the same. Oh yeah, and just one more reason that he trained American doctors to treat the "underserved" in the U.S. And I quote...
Ah ha! The picture becomes just a little bit clearer. The great humanitarian socialist, Fidel Castro, plans to help poorer people out. The "underserved" of the world, including the U.S. And he also "relishes" the idea of sending doctors trained for free back to the United States, "its arch-enemy." Benevolence at its finest.
And, now the one-sided plug. These U.S. students praised movie Sicko, from documentary extraordinaire Michael Moore. Hailed as "inspirational" by one such student. The second part of this one-sided news story is the praise of the universal health care system, now on the debating table of the Presidential election of 2008. This is important, so take careful note:
"Focuses on preventing illness before it becomes more serious and costly."
"Before it becomes more serious and costly."
Sorry about that. I told you it was important, now remember well.
Also, Kenya Bingham, says in Cuba, "When you are sick, they are not going to try to charge you or turn you away if you don't have insurance."
Another enthusiastic student proclaims that the universal health care system in Cuba is a "wonderful idea that makes total sense for every country, especially one with so many resources." She ends stating, "If they can do it in Cuba, we can do it in the United States."
It feels so warm and cuddly, but too good to be true? Perhaps.
http://www.cartadecuba.com/Life%20in%20Red.htm
This is a news article written by Raul Rivero, an independent Cuban journalist, in the French publisher's Le Monde, January 2nd, 1999.
I encourage you to read this somewhat lengthy article. It sheds more light onto the Great and Glorious Cuba. To make a list, since the article is quite long.
Cuba:
- "Somewhat bitter joke" goes something like this: "When the head of a household gets up
at dawn in present-day Cuba, he or she only faces two problems: lunch and dinner." Can you guess why its a "somewhat bitter joke?"
- "Ordinary Cubans, who have no relatives in the United States, do not work in a foreign company or have no friends in a corporation, those Cubans who ride bicycles and get paid in national currency- the vast majority of the population- have to recur to three verbs which raise suspicion: "Inventar, resolver y escapar": To invent, to solve and to escape.
This is the formula. "Invento (I invent) because my cousin brings me hams from the countryside, and I sell them to my neighbors and my friends. The salary I make as a
teacher lasts me the first ten days of the month, just like the products which I can buy under the ration card [libreta de abastecimientos]." So says Fernando, 38, married with two children, 11 and 6. Elia, his wife, works in a factory cafeteria, and can always bring something home, besides her monthly salary of 118 pesos (1).
"Clothing and shoes for the children are a tragedy. I do not know how, but I invent something, I have to invent"
Fernando's moonlighting makes him a criminal, because it is against Cuban law to engage in this type of commerce. The teacher does and is against the law, so he is careful; he feels at fault with society. Such a person cannot confront authority to claim his rights or demand respect. Thousands of Cubans, forced to engage in illegal work, such as Fernando, are effectively neutralized as citizens.
There is still a more complex category, linked to the verb resolver (to solve). "Guards from the factory steal ingredients. I make the paint in the back yard of a friend, and solve my problem. I make about a thousand pesos a month. It is risky. My freedom hangs from a thread [enun hilo], but I solve my family's problem and still have some money left to have a beer once in a while." Joel says that he is not interested in politics. He is 30, and feels well. Uneasy, but well.
To escape is something else.
Rolando Alvarez, almost 70, wrote. for three decades many praises of socialist society. He still loves journalism, although has retired, and receives 169 pesos a month. "I do not regret anything I wrote. When I did, I believed in the project, and I still think it has many beautiful things that have transformed our society. Now, individually, in my old age, I escape, because I help in a "paladar"-private restaurant-. I wash dishes, wait on tables, whatever. And, at the end of the day, I take home something to eat or a few pesos, for my wife and me", speaking in his little apartment of downtown Havana. And to be able to prepare a meal of rice and beans, just that, no vegetables or meat, I invest almost half my salary. A pound of black beans costs 20 pesos. A head of garlic 4. A bunch of peppers another 4. Onions are 10 a bunch and rice 5 a pound. I need oil and have to buy it from the store where they sell in dollars. Then I go there and change 50 pesos, because a bottle is $2.40 dollars. This is ready. From 80 to 85 pesos for a meal for two people. But we are calm. We have ours. I am satisfied."
- "Had I dedicated the time I have lost waiting for a guagua (bus), or something else in which to transport myself, I would be a Doctor of Science or an intellectual. The wait extends for hours and hours, but at the end one reaches the destination." commented veterinarian Alfredo Vargas."
- "In Cuba, with the exception of some owners of small twelve seat restaurants and of minimal coffee, pizza and candy stores, the only employer is the State. Now, it is said, only half-jokingly, that when a Cuban gets offered a job, he does not ask how much is the salary, but how much he can steal. Society has been taken over by the Robin Hood syndrome: the rogues who steal something from their workplace every day, those whoresuelven , are seen
with sympathy. Their crime, their sin, their actions, are not perceived by the community as a fault, but rather as a form of struggling for survival. This is why such people are known in all of Cuba as "luchadores", rogues in the most orthodox Spanish tradition."
Government officials blame this on the American blockade.
- "From day to day, the worst of the poor, Third World capitalism, which has been imported to the Island, advances. And the conquests of real socialism have dissolved in the inefficiency of the system. Meager production, an agriculture incapable of working, and the government's refusal to allow the people to take off the yoke of the state, have not allowed the start of a
process of individual sovereignty."
- Education is free, but with a clear hue of indoctrination.
One Cuban father wants the government to give his children education, pure education, and let them choose their political color later . No more Lenin, Marx or any other
imposed idea. Children must go to school to prepare for a profession,
not to serve anyone or any ideology."
There is more, but these examples are sufficient to make my point. Okay, the rundown is that Cubans are not paid enough by the government (the sole dispenser of jobs), and are forced to steal or "commit crimes" like getting a second job. They cannot pay for enough food and are not provided enough by the government. They cannot get adequate shoes or
clothing for their children. Cubans are required to wait for buses that take hours to arrive or get them anywhere. Cubans are widely regulated by the government and are provided a generous helping of indoctrination (also known as an "education" in Cuba).
Alright. We know about doctors, we know about Cuba. I think it is safe to say that these two
stories do not delve into the entire elephant of doctors or Cuba, but it is a bite, or perhaps a meal.
With all of these problems with Cuba, Fidel Castro is still so generous as to educate the citizens of this country. How benevolent can one man be, to forfeit the health (Mal-nutrition) of his own citizens to fund the education of 88 U.S. students for free? Oh
yeah, these educations are estimated at 250,000 to 500,000 USD.
Okay, no more games. This man educates our citizens at the expense of his own people. Suddenly, it doesn't appear as if humanitarian efforts are the only motive Castro has for training our people for free. Call me cynical, but if I were a betting man, I would say that
the arch-enemy thing has something more to do with this. Or, if I'm in a conspiracy theory mood, perhaps he wishes to "indoc-ducate" our doctors into the spread of Cuba's socialist typed system. It seems to be working.
I would also like to raise some suspicion about the motives of the students. They have just saved themselves up to 500,000 bucks by going to Castro's Cuba and getting a free education. Again, at the expense of Cubans who have to commit the crime of having a second job just to eat. Then they get to come back to the United States and serve our "underserved." I bet they will make some pretty decent money doing it too. These students are selfish to have done this. I feel confident in saying this because it has been on the backs of the Cuban people and they are giving nothing back to Cuba. Perhaps Castro could also find a better use for Cuban money. I know its a stretch, but just imagine with me for a sec'.
In the state of Cuba, it is also impossible to get an education that lacks indoctrination. You are not allowed to think of your own ideas or make your own opinions, solely what Castro thinks is important (socialism/communism).
I for one am grateful to live in a place where I can make my own decisions, get a second job, if desired, have the capability to buy my own food, clothing, and shoes. Also, I am grateful to be able to get to a place I need/want to be, without having to wait for a bus. I'm also grateful that I do not have health care provided for free. I know, how could I possibly be grateful to have that? I would rather have food, clothing, shoes, a car, my own opinions, a decently balanced education, and the choice of how to provide for myself over free health care. What I'm saying is, nothing is free. Cliche? Maybe. True? Irrefutably. I recognize that it may not cost me my food, clothing, car, etc., but it will cost something. It was a crime in Canada to open up or attend a private clinic. That's a cost.
Now for that immensely important part of Cuba's amazing universal health care system. Do you remember what I said was important (and repeated 3 times)?
Great and Glorious Shining Light? Sadly, not quite what it has been built up to be.
-Rage
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070724/hl_nm/cuba_usa_doctors_dc
This is a news article about the recent graduation of 8 U.S. students from Castro's "free" education system. In exchange for this service, they are to commit themselves to going back home to treat the "underserved." Obviously, this is just a good guy from a great country trying to help the poor around the world. The great humanitarian socialist, Fidel Castro. The article writes that this is part of the Cuban government's plan to export doctors to poorer countries, like Venezuela or Bolivia, as well as to train their own citizens to do the same. Oh yeah, and just one more reason that he trained American doctors to treat the "underserved" in the U.S. And I quote...
Officials in Cuba's communist government relish the idea of training doctors for the United States, its arch-enemy since Castro took power in a leftist revolution in 1959.
Ah ha! The picture becomes just a little bit clearer. The great humanitarian socialist, Fidel Castro, plans to help poorer people out. The "underserved" of the world, including the U.S. And he also "relishes" the idea of sending doctors trained for free back to the United States, "its arch-enemy." Benevolence at its finest.
And, now the one-sided plug. These U.S. students praised movie Sicko, from documentary extraordinaire Michael Moore. Hailed as "inspirational" by one such student. The second part of this one-sided news story is the praise of the universal health care system, now on the debating table of the Presidential election of 2008. This is important, so take careful note:
The U.S. students praised Cuba's universal, free health-care system, which Is community based and focuses on preventing illness before it becomes more serious and costly, in contrast to the U.S. health industry indicted for being profit-based in Michael Moore's recent film "SiCKO."
"Focuses on preventing illness before it becomes more serious and costly."
"Before it becomes more serious and costly."
Sorry about that. I told you it was important, now remember well.
Also, Kenya Bingham, says in Cuba, "When you are sick, they are not going to try to charge you or turn you away if you don't have insurance."
Another enthusiastic student proclaims that the universal health care system in Cuba is a "wonderful idea that makes total sense for every country, especially one with so many resources." She ends stating, "If they can do it in Cuba, we can do it in the United States."
It feels so warm and cuddly, but too good to be true? Perhaps.
http://www.cartadecuba.com/Life%20in%20Red.htm
This is a news article written by Raul Rivero, an independent Cuban journalist, in the French publisher's Le Monde, January 2nd, 1999.
I encourage you to read this somewhat lengthy article. It sheds more light onto the Great and Glorious Cuba. To make a list, since the article is quite long.
Cuba:
- "Somewhat bitter joke" goes something like this: "When the head of a household gets up
at dawn in present-day Cuba, he or she only faces two problems: lunch and dinner." Can you guess why its a "somewhat bitter joke?"
- "Ordinary Cubans, who have no relatives in the United States, do not work in a foreign company or have no friends in a corporation, those Cubans who ride bicycles and get paid in national currency- the vast majority of the population- have to recur to three verbs which raise suspicion: "Inventar, resolver y escapar": To invent, to solve and to escape.
This is the formula. "Invento (I invent) because my cousin brings me hams from the countryside, and I sell them to my neighbors and my friends. The salary I make as a
teacher lasts me the first ten days of the month, just like the products which I can buy under the ration card [libreta de abastecimientos]." So says Fernando, 38, married with two children, 11 and 6. Elia, his wife, works in a factory cafeteria, and can always bring something home, besides her monthly salary of 118 pesos (1).
"Clothing and shoes for the children are a tragedy. I do not know how, but I invent something, I have to invent"
Fernando's moonlighting makes him a criminal, because it is against Cuban law to engage in this type of commerce. The teacher does and is against the law, so he is careful; he feels at fault with society. Such a person cannot confront authority to claim his rights or demand respect. Thousands of Cubans, forced to engage in illegal work, such as Fernando, are effectively neutralized as citizens.
There is still a more complex category, linked to the verb resolver (to solve). "Guards from the factory steal ingredients. I make the paint in the back yard of a friend, and solve my problem. I make about a thousand pesos a month. It is risky. My freedom hangs from a thread [enun hilo], but I solve my family's problem and still have some money left to have a beer once in a while." Joel says that he is not interested in politics. He is 30, and feels well. Uneasy, but well.
To escape is something else.
Rolando Alvarez, almost 70, wrote. for three decades many praises of socialist society. He still loves journalism, although has retired, and receives 169 pesos a month. "I do not regret anything I wrote. When I did, I believed in the project, and I still think it has many beautiful things that have transformed our society. Now, individually, in my old age, I escape, because I help in a "paladar"-private restaurant-. I wash dishes, wait on tables, whatever. And, at the end of the day, I take home something to eat or a few pesos, for my wife and me", speaking in his little apartment of downtown Havana. And to be able to prepare a meal of rice and beans, just that, no vegetables or meat, I invest almost half my salary. A pound of black beans costs 20 pesos. A head of garlic 4. A bunch of peppers another 4. Onions are 10 a bunch and rice 5 a pound. I need oil and have to buy it from the store where they sell in dollars. Then I go there and change 50 pesos, because a bottle is $2.40 dollars. This is ready. From 80 to 85 pesos for a meal for two people. But we are calm. We have ours. I am satisfied."
- "Had I dedicated the time I have lost waiting for a guagua (bus), or something else in which to transport myself, I would be a Doctor of Science or an intellectual. The wait extends for hours and hours, but at the end one reaches the destination." commented veterinarian Alfredo Vargas."
- "In Cuba, with the exception of some owners of small twelve seat restaurants and of minimal coffee, pizza and candy stores, the only employer is the State. Now, it is said, only half-jokingly, that when a Cuban gets offered a job, he does not ask how much is the salary, but how much he can steal. Society has been taken over by the Robin Hood syndrome: the rogues who steal something from their workplace every day, those whoresuelven , are seen
with sympathy. Their crime, their sin, their actions, are not perceived by the community as a fault, but rather as a form of struggling for survival. This is why such people are known in all of Cuba as "luchadores", rogues in the most orthodox Spanish tradition."
Government officials blame this on the American blockade.
- "From day to day, the worst of the poor, Third World capitalism, which has been imported to the Island, advances. And the conquests of real socialism have dissolved in the inefficiency of the system. Meager production, an agriculture incapable of working, and the government's refusal to allow the people to take off the yoke of the state, have not allowed the start of a
process of individual sovereignty."
- Education is free, but with a clear hue of indoctrination.
One Cuban father wants the government to give his children education, pure education, and let them choose their political color later . No more Lenin, Marx or any other
imposed idea. Children must go to school to prepare for a profession,
not to serve anyone or any ideology."
There is more, but these examples are sufficient to make my point. Okay, the rundown is that Cubans are not paid enough by the government (the sole dispenser of jobs), and are forced to steal or "commit crimes" like getting a second job. They cannot pay for enough food and are not provided enough by the government. They cannot get adequate shoes or
clothing for their children. Cubans are required to wait for buses that take hours to arrive or get them anywhere. Cubans are widely regulated by the government and are provided a generous helping of indoctrination (also known as an "education" in Cuba).
Alright. We know about doctors, we know about Cuba. I think it is safe to say that these two
stories do not delve into the entire elephant of doctors or Cuba, but it is a bite, or perhaps a meal.
With all of these problems with Cuba, Fidel Castro is still so generous as to educate the citizens of this country. How benevolent can one man be, to forfeit the health (Mal-nutrition) of his own citizens to fund the education of 88 U.S. students for free? Oh
yeah, these educations are estimated at 250,000 to 500,000 USD.
Okay, no more games. This man educates our citizens at the expense of his own people. Suddenly, it doesn't appear as if humanitarian efforts are the only motive Castro has for training our people for free. Call me cynical, but if I were a betting man, I would say that
the arch-enemy thing has something more to do with this. Or, if I'm in a conspiracy theory mood, perhaps he wishes to "indoc-ducate" our doctors into the spread of Cuba's socialist typed system. It seems to be working.
I would also like to raise some suspicion about the motives of the students. They have just saved themselves up to 500,000 bucks by going to Castro's Cuba and getting a free education. Again, at the expense of Cubans who have to commit the crime of having a second job just to eat. Then they get to come back to the United States and serve our "underserved." I bet they will make some pretty decent money doing it too. These students are selfish to have done this. I feel confident in saying this because it has been on the backs of the Cuban people and they are giving nothing back to Cuba. Perhaps Castro could also find a better use for Cuban money. I know its a stretch, but just imagine with me for a sec'.
In the state of Cuba, it is also impossible to get an education that lacks indoctrination. You are not allowed to think of your own ideas or make your own opinions, solely what Castro thinks is important (socialism/communism).
I for one am grateful to live in a place where I can make my own decisions, get a second job, if desired, have the capability to buy my own food, clothing, and shoes. Also, I am grateful to be able to get to a place I need/want to be, without having to wait for a bus. I'm also grateful that I do not have health care provided for free. I know, how could I possibly be grateful to have that? I would rather have food, clothing, shoes, a car, my own opinions, a decently balanced education, and the choice of how to provide for myself over free health care. What I'm saying is, nothing is free. Cliche? Maybe. True? Irrefutably. I recognize that it may not cost me my food, clothing, car, etc., but it will cost something. It was a crime in Canada to open up or attend a private clinic. That's a cost.
Now for that immensely important part of Cuba's amazing universal health care system. Do you remember what I said was important (and repeated 3 times)?
Havana and other major cities have suffered periodic outbreaks of scabies and lice. Several diseases, such as tuberculosis and dengue, have been reborn, and several epidemics have produced victims among the general population. "I prefer to cure myself using home remedies, without leaving my room. To enter a hospital is torture. You have to bring your own towels and sheets, soap and food, and then call somebody abroad so that they can send medicine. Physicians are good, but paramedical service is a disaster. They get paid very little. There is a general lack of cleanliness and poor attention. The special clinic for foreigners and government officials is a different story. But I don't fit in there." Eliecer, railroad worker, 52.
Great and Glorious Shining Light? Sadly, not quite what it has been built up to be.
-Rage
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