Making my own Che Items

[FidelCastro]

I have two objects. I have a Green Beret and a Green Castro Cap. I would like to Fidelinize and Cheinize them (yes, I made those two words up) I'm trying to think of Ideas for my beret which I like to wear often. The Castro Hat is is too small so it's just a novelty item. Of course I can't produce hat's and stuff like that on my own so I still need to purchase thsoe types of things. I'm looking for a big Che patch for the the inside of my hat which no one will see but I will know it's there. The second, is a symbol for the front for all to see. What symbol should I put there? A Hammer/Sickle? A Zapatista Star? A Red China Star? A Cuba Flag Patch?

This is where you come in rev left. Help me find Patches and give me Ideas and of course, I promise, I will post pics when i'm done.

Also, I know it may sort of represent commercialism, but there is a store on the internet which sells head statues of political figures for 80 bucks including Che. I'm thinking of getting one. I don't think of it as commericalism because I saw Castro showing off his.

[emma_goldman]

Why don't you screen print the patches, that way you would buy even less into commercialism plus you could pick whatever YOU want most.

Here's a good tutorial: http://community.livejournal.com/craftgrrl/3674467.html

I don't think I would pay 80 bucks for a statue. :(

And also I wouldn't trust Castro as a model of "anti-commercialism". Forbes lists Castro as one of the world's richest people. Their estimate is around $900 million. Prove it wrong. :blink:

Good luck!

[FidelCastro]

Castro said himself that he wasen't. What does Forbes know? Those fucking ****s. I hope Mr. Fobes rots in hell.

[Brekisonphilous]

Originally posted by [email protected] 12 2006, 12:44 AM
Castro said himself that he wasen't. What does Forbes know? Those fucking ****s. I hope Mr. Fobes rots in hell.
lol. Just like I could say that i'm not a member of Revolutionary Left :rolleyes:

I would go with the zapatista star for the front... forget buying one, just get some red material like thick felt and make a bunch.

[emma_goldman]

That's why Castro lives comfortably but the rest of the country lives mostly in squalor. :angry:

[Chrysalis]

Originally posted by [email protected] 12 2006, 12:44 AM
Castro said himself that he wasen't. What does Forbes know? Those fucking ****s. I hope Mr. Fobes rots in hell.
What does Forbes know?? Paper trail. And why they keep Castro beloved in Europe.

Privacy policy is only as good and effective as one is still useful to the authority. Some people will not talk, but given the right authority, nothing is sealed and sacred.

I would believe Forbes about an individual's wealth, before I believe that individual. Marx did not jizz himself doing all that manifesto stuff for nothing: power from wealth is the ultimate "reality" which the revolution will try to destroy.

[An archist]

Originally posted by [email protected] 11 2006, 11:48 PM

And also I wouldn't trust Castro as a model of "anti-commercialism". Forbes lists Castro as one of the world's richest people. Their estimate is around $900 million. Prove it wrong. :blink:

Well, off course I don't know how rich Castro is exactly, but I do know that Forbs is a member of an organisation to put Castro out of power, made up of fleed Cubans and US conservatives.
Also, to calculate that number, they just took a percentage of the Cuban Gross National Product.

"Don't believe what they want you to believe"

(I'm not pro-Castro)

[emma_goldman]

Yeah, I know. I just don't think Castro is the model person he is sometimes made out to be. I'm not saying it's not a reasonable doubt, I'm saying prove it wrong. :P

[bezdomni]

Originally posted by [email protected] 12 2006, 02:51 PM
Yeah, I know. I just don't think Castro is the model person he is sometimes made out to be. I'm not saying it's not a reasonable doubt, I'm saying prove it wrong. :P
Prove it right.

Forbes was only making speculation, they say so in the article that they actually don't have proof that Castro has any money...they just assumed that he was taking money out of nationalized industry; so they gave him an arbitrary percentage of the Cuban GDP.

Neither you nor Forbes (whos motto is something about perpetuating capitalism) can empirically prove that Castro has a single penny.

Futhermore; I find it extremely ironic that you, a so-called revolutionary, are criticizing revolutionary Cuba...and your only source is a bourgeois magazine! :lol:

[emma_goldman]

I'm by no means backing Forbes. I just don't doubt Castro is FAR richer than many leftists would like to believe. Many times I back Castro but we must remember he is NOT without fault. A serious critique of Castro's Cuba by the left is GREATLY needed.

Here's some things I'd like explained:
1) imprisonment of counterrevolutionaries in extremely poor conditions w/o trial
2) Castro's concept of "social deviants" which includes homosexual and Aids victims
3) his stance on abortion
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/59998.stm
4) his being in office since 1959
5) Article 62: "None of the freedoms which are recognized for citizens can be exercised contrary to... the existence and objectives of the socialist state, or contrary to the decision of the Cuban people to build socialism and communism. Violations of this principle can be punished by law".
6) the PCC and voting; lacking multi-party seats
7) the salaries of average Cubans
8) introduction of dollar at tourist attractions where peso is not accepted (subsequently barring ordinary Cubans)
9) most Cubans effectively banned from traveling to Havana, and
10) a massive police presence which enforces this ban
11) whites in Cuba (though only 37% of populace) hold many of key power positions
12) lack of freedom of speech (many won't crique Castro's regime) which shows a,
13) strong secret police presence

Among others...

This is not to say that Cuba hasn't done a great job as a third world country under an embargo. After all their healthcare is far better than our own. But this doesn't mean we must forgo any meaningful discussion about Castro's politics.

[bezdomni]

Fair enough.

I really meant to direct most that to Chrysalis, I just ended up quoting you because you said "prove it wrong" about the forbes thing.

I am also critical of Castro, I just think the Forbes thing is a ton of bullshit that no true revolutionary leftist should take seriously.

[Palmares]

Who's up for some Che condoms then?

[apathy maybe]

*Waves hands about* Pick me! Pick me!

(What the hell are Che condoms and why do you have them?)

[bezdomni]

I want a Che hummer!

[FidelCastro]

Originally posted by [email protected] 12 2006, 03:35 PM
I'm by no means backing Forbes. I just don't doubt Castro is FAR richer than many leftists would like to believe. Many times I back Castro but we must remember he is NOT without fault. A serious critique of Castro's Cuba by the left is GREATLY needed.

Here's some things I'd like explained:
1) imprisonment of counterrevolutionaries in extremely poor conditions w/o trial
2) Castro's concept of "social deviants" which includes homosexual and Aids victims
3) his stance on abortion
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/59998.stm
4) his being in office since 1959
5) Article 62: "None of the freedoms which are recognized for citizens can be exercised contrary to... the existence and objectives of the socialist state, or contrary to the decision of the Cuban people to build socialism and communism. Violations of this principle can be punished by law".
6) the PCC and voting; lacking multi-party seats
7) the salaries of average Cubans
8) introduction of dollar at tourist attractions where peso is not accepted (subsequently barring ordinary Cubans)
9) most Cubans effectively banned from traveling to Havana, and
10) a massive police presence which enforces this ban
11) whites in Cuba (though only 37% of populace) hold many of key power positions
12) lack of freedom of speech (many won't crique Castro's regime) which shows a,
13) strong secret police presence

Among others...

This is not to say that Cuba hasn't done a great job as a third world country under an embargo. After all their healthcare is far better than our own. But this doesn't mean we must forgo any meaningful discussion about Castro's politics.
Fidel isn't Anti-abortion, he's anti-abortion when it's used as a form of birth control. I support the pill, condoms, and abortion when nessecary, but if my girlfriend got pregnant, we'd be keeping the baby no question bout it. Think about it, you have an abortion, you are potentially killing the greatest man who would ever walk the Earth.

[FidelCastro]

Originally posted by [email protected] 12 2006, 03:35 PM
I'm by no means backing Forbes. I just don't doubt Castro is FAR richer than many leftists would like to believe. Many times I back Castro but we must remember he is NOT without fault. A serious critique of Castro's Cuba by the left is GREATLY needed.

Here's some things I'd like explained:
1) imprisonment of counterrevolutionaries in extremely poor conditions w/o trial
2) Castro's concept of "social deviants" which includes homosexual and Aids victims
3) his stance on abortion
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/59998.stm
4) his being in office since 1959
5) Article 62: "None of the freedoms which are recognized for citizens can be exercised contrary to... the existence and objectives of the socialist state, or contrary to the decision of the Cuban people to build socialism and communism. Violations of this principle can be punished by law".
6) the PCC and voting; lacking multi-party seats
7) the salaries of average Cubans
8) introduction of dollar at tourist attractions where peso is not accepted (subsequently barring ordinary Cubans)
9) most Cubans effectively banned from traveling to Havana, and
10) a massive police presence which enforces this ban
11) whites in Cuba (though only 37% of populace) hold many of key power positions
12) lack of freedom of speech (many won't crique Castro's regime) which shows a,
13) strong secret police presence

Among others...

This is not to say that Cuba hasn't done a great job as a third world country under an embargo. After all their healthcare is far better than our own. But this doesn't mean we must forgo any meaningful discussion about Castro's politics.
Fidel isn't Anti-abortion, he's anti-abortion when it's used as a form of birth control. I support the pill, condoms, and abortion when nessecary, but if my girlfriend got pregnant, we'd be keeping the baby no question bout it. Think about it, you have an abortion, you are potentially killing the greatest man who would ever walk the Earth.

[FidelCastro]

Originally posted by [email protected] 12 2006, 03:35 PM
I'm by no means backing Forbes. I just don't doubt Castro is FAR richer than many leftists would like to believe. Many times I back Castro but we must remember he is NOT without fault. A serious critique of Castro's Cuba by the left is GREATLY needed.

Here's some things I'd like explained:
1) imprisonment of counterrevolutionaries in extremely poor conditions w/o trial
2) Castro's concept of "social deviants" which includes homosexual and Aids victims
3) his stance on abortion
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/59998.stm
4) his being in office since 1959
5) Article 62: "None of the freedoms which are recognized for citizens can be exercised contrary to... the existence and objectives of the socialist state, or contrary to the decision of the Cuban people to build socialism and communism. Violations of this principle can be punished by law".
6) the PCC and voting; lacking multi-party seats
7) the salaries of average Cubans
8) introduction of dollar at tourist attractions where peso is not accepted (subsequently barring ordinary Cubans)
9) most Cubans effectively banned from traveling to Havana, and
10) a massive police presence which enforces this ban
11) whites in Cuba (though only 37% of populace) hold many of key power positions
12) lack of freedom of speech (many won't crique Castro's regime) which shows a,
13) strong secret police presence

Among others...

This is not to say that Cuba hasn't done a great job as a third world country under an embargo. After all their healthcare is far better than our own. But this doesn't mean we must forgo any meaningful discussion about Castro's politics.
Fidel isn't Anti-abortion, he's anti-abortion when it's used as a form of birth control. I support the pill, condoms, and abortion when nessecary, but if my girlfriend got pregnant, we'd be keeping the baby no question bout it. Think about it, you have an abortion, you are potentially killing the greatest man who would ever walk the Earth.

[Ricardo]

Or the next Hitler.

[Ricardo]

Or the next Hitler.

[Ricardo]

Or the next Hitler.

[emma_goldman]

Originally posted by [email protected] 23 2006, 04:22 AM
Fidel isn't Anti-abortion, he's anti-abortion when it's used as a form of birth control. I support the pill, condoms, and abortion when nessecary, but if my girlfriend got pregnant, we'd be keeping the baby no question bout it. Think about it, you have an abortion, you are potentially killing the greatest man who would ever walk the Earth.
Woot. One out of 13. How is abortion necessary if not as a form of birth control? I don't mean not using the pill & maybe condomns too....

[emma_goldman]

Originally posted by [email protected] 23 2006, 04:22 AM
Fidel isn't Anti-abortion, he's anti-abortion when it's used as a form of birth control. I support the pill, condoms, and abortion when nessecary, but if my girlfriend got pregnant, we'd be keeping the baby no question bout it. Think about it, you have an abortion, you are potentially killing the greatest man who would ever walk the Earth.
Woot. One out of 13. How is abortion necessary if not as a form of birth control? I don't mean not using the pill & maybe condomns too....

[emma_goldman]

Originally posted by [email protected] 23 2006, 04:22 AM
Fidel isn't Anti-abortion, he's anti-abortion when it's used as a form of birth control. I support the pill, condoms, and abortion when nessecary, but if my girlfriend got pregnant, we'd be keeping the baby no question bout it. Think about it, you have an abortion, you are potentially killing the greatest man who would ever walk the Earth.
Woot. One out of 13. How is abortion necessary if not as a form of birth control? I don't mean not using the pill & maybe condomns too....

[Forward Union]

Originally posted by [email protected] 23 2006, 04:22 AM
f my girlfriend got pregnant, we'd be keeping the baby no question bout it. Think about it, you have an abortion, you are potentially killing the greatest man who would ever walk the Earth.
Rape victims give you two thumbs up!

[Forward Union]

Originally posted by [email protected] 23 2006, 04:22 AM
f my girlfriend got pregnant, we'd be keeping the baby no question bout it. Think about it, you have an abortion, you are potentially killing the greatest man who would ever walk the Earth.
Rape victims give you two thumbs up!

[Forward Union]

Originally posted by [email protected] 23 2006, 04:22 AM
f my girlfriend got pregnant, we'd be keeping the baby no question bout it. Think about it, you have an abortion, you are potentially killing the greatest man who would ever walk the Earth.
Rape victims give you two thumbs up!

[Palmares]

Originally posted by apathy [email protected] 13 2006, 04:26 PM
*Waves hands about* Pick me! Pick me!

(What the hell are Che condoms and why do you have them?)
I bet you'll love some Che toilet paper too.

[Palmares]

Originally posted by apathy [email protected] 13 2006, 04:26 PM
*Waves hands about* Pick me! Pick me!

(What the hell are Che condoms and why do you have them?)
I bet you'll love some Che toilet paper too.

[Palmares]

Originally posted by apathy [email protected] 13 2006, 04:26 PM
*Waves hands about* Pick me! Pick me!

(What the hell are Che condoms and why do you have them?)
I bet you'll love some Che toilet paper too.

[Black Dagger]

Castro might be as rich as fuck, but basing that belief on what Forbes says is, well, horribly misguided.

Forbes based their estimations of Castro's wealth on figures coming out of the cuban economy. They looked at cuba and saw that 'hey castro runs everything, therefore all the money that the cuban economy produces surely goes straight into his bank account!' - im not kidding, that is where their figures come from. They're took figures of Cuba's GNP etc. and said that these are the same as Castro's - because the economy is state-run, and the state is run by fidel, and therefore the states wealth in Forbes' wisdom becomes Fidel's wealth.

Even the most hardnosed anarchist can see that that is complete and utter bollocks.

[Black Dagger]

Castro might be as rich as fuck, but basing that belief on what Forbes says is, well, horribly misguided.

Forbes based their estimations of Castro's wealth on figures coming out of the cuban economy. They looked at cuba and saw that 'hey castro runs everything, therefore all the money that the cuban economy produces surely goes straight into his bank account!' - im not kidding, that is where their figures come from. They're took figures of Cuba's GNP etc. and said that these are the same as Castro's - because the economy is state-run, and the state is run by fidel, and therefore the states wealth in Forbes' wisdom becomes Fidel's wealth.

Even the most hardnosed anarchist can see that that is complete and utter bollocks.

[Black Dagger]

Castro might be as rich as fuck, but basing that belief on what Forbes says is, well, horribly misguided.

Forbes based their estimations of Castro's wealth on figures coming out of the cuban economy. They looked at cuba and saw that 'hey castro runs everything, therefore all the money that the cuban economy produces surely goes straight into his bank account!' - im not kidding, that is where their figures come from. They're took figures of Cuba's GNP etc. and said that these are the same as Castro's - because the economy is state-run, and the state is run by fidel, and therefore the states wealth in Forbes' wisdom becomes Fidel's wealth.

Even the most hardnosed anarchist can see that that is complete and utter bollocks.

[emma_goldman]

Originally posted by [email protected] 23 2006, 04:22 AM
Fidel isn't Anti-abortion, he's anti-abortion when it's used as a form of birth control. I support the pill, condoms, and abortion when nessecary, but if my girlfriend got pregnant, we'd be keeping the baby no question bout it. Think about it, you have an abortion, you are potentially killing the greatest man who would ever walk the Earth.
I think your girlfriend should be the judge of that. ;)

[emma_goldman]

Originally posted by [email protected] 23 2006, 04:22 AM
Fidel isn't Anti-abortion, he's anti-abortion when it's used as a form of birth control. I support the pill, condoms, and abortion when nessecary, but if my girlfriend got pregnant, we'd be keeping the baby no question bout it. Think about it, you have an abortion, you are potentially killing the greatest man who would ever walk the Earth.
I think your girlfriend should be the judge of that. ;)

[emma_goldman]

Originally posted by [email protected] 23 2006, 04:22 AM
Fidel isn't Anti-abortion, he's anti-abortion when it's used as a form of birth control. I support the pill, condoms, and abortion when nessecary, but if my girlfriend got pregnant, we'd be keeping the baby no question bout it. Think about it, you have an abortion, you are potentially killing the greatest man who would ever walk the Earth.
I think your girlfriend should be the judge of that. ;)

[TC]

I just don't doubt Castro is FAR richer than many leftists would like to believe.

Right, based on what? You're psychic?

No actually i'm sure he's a far poorer man than the disloyal ant-socialist anarchist 'left' would like to believe.


Many times I back Castro but we must remember he is NOT without fault.

No one is without fault but he's without the specific faults you're claiming.


A serious critique of Castro's Cuba by the left is GREATLY needed.

No, a misguided, unsourced, unsupported "critique" of Cuba and Castro, based on the bourgeois media rumor mill which is so effective in repeating unsupported propaganda (Iraq has WMDs!!!) frequently enough that people actually believe it, isn't needed, the liberal anti-communists have that sort of propaganda covered.


1) imprisonment of counterrevolutionaries in extremely poor conditions w/o trial

This has never happened, all 'counterrevolutionaries' who are imprisioned by the Cuban people have been given a trial and convicted after a case against them has been proven, but naturally the bourgeois media tries to misrepresent this. For instance, when a group of anti-government journalists was arrested, given a trial and jailed, the BBC and CNN and other rightwing media sources reported that Cuba was "cracking down on dissident journalists" when in fact, they weren't jailed for their anti-governmnet journalism which is completely legal and legally protected by Cuban free speech laws, but because they were caught recieving cash from American intellegence working out of the American Interest Section in Havana, something that would be a crime in any country.


2) Castro's concept of "social deviants" which includes homosexual and Aids victims

Castro has no such opinion, and he is consistently pro-gay rights and publically criticizes Latin Amercan homophobia, this was just a bizzar rumor started by the capitalists press that has utterly no basis in fact. AIDS patients were quarantined during the initial outbreak because at the time, no one knew that HIV caused AIDS and it wasn't clear what the transmission mechanism was...While AIDS was associated with homosexuals in North America and parts of Europe because the index case for the North American outbreak just happened to be a gay person in california who got it in Africa, this is not the case in Cuba or in most of the world for that matter, its a very americentric assumption.

Fidel Castro said in a 1992 interview when asked about gays in cuba:

" I don't consider homosexuality to be a phenomenon of degeneration. I've always had a more rational approach, considering it to be one of the natural aspects and tendencies of human beings which should be respected. That's how I view it... I am absolutely opposed to any form of repression, contempt, scorn or discrimination with regard to homosexuals. That's what I think.""

I think thats pretty unambigious.


3) his stance on abortion
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/59998.stm

I don't see anything objectionable about his stance on abortion. Abortion in Cuba is legal on demand, free of cost, easily available and doesn't require any harassement known as "abortion counsoling" thats done in the west as a result of the religious right.

The BBC article and the absolutely *absurd* headline "Castro condemns abortion" is, like many propagandistic BBC headlines that misrepresent the content of the article, completely false.

Castro was giving a speech *in defense* of abortion as a rebuttle to a speech the late Pope made in Cuba [http://lists.jammed.com/IWAR/1998/01/0101.html]

The BBC Article uses some probably deliberate pronoun confusion in "His attack on abortion follows Pope John Paul first visit to Cuba last month during which he criticised promiscuity and "easy recourse to abortion"." when it appears that Castro was the one who called promiscuity and "easy recourse to abortion" when in fact, those were Pope John Paul's words, not Castros...it was what Castro was publically objecting to.

The full comment that the Pope made was " "the spread of promiscuous behavior, loss of ethical values, coarseness, premarital sexual relations at
an early age and easy recourse to abortion". "

Castro responded that they would never outlaw abortion and suggested that the Pope's views on sex were "medieval."

In Cuba however, during the 1990 when Castro gave his speech, abortion was frequently used as a primary birth control method rather than a backup method after failed contraceptive use. This was because as a result of the US embargo and the economy at the time, while they could perform abortions cheaply, condoms were in very short supply.

The actual line that Castro used that the BBC picked up on and misinterpreted was ""We do not like abortion. It is not healthy or advisable or desirable."" In other words, his legitimate and appropriate desire to reduce the abortion rate is not a matter of morality but a matter of pragmatism for the health and discomfort issues. This is especially the case because in Cuba "abortion" only refers to abortion later in pregnancy, early abortions are refered to as "menstrual regulation" and not classified as abortion as they are in the west, so when he refers to abortion as being unhealthy and not desirable he's refering to more complicated types of abortions. This isn't such a problem anymore because of the availability of condoms in Cuba, which are now free, but you have to remember that ten years ago, when Castro made this comment, the Cuban economy was quite weak.


4) his being in office since 1959

Actually this isn't accurate. While Castro was elected prime minister in 1959, he wasn't elected president until 1976, before that other Cuban Communist leaders held the office.

In any case the fact that he's held office since 1976 is really a non-issue. Western bourgeois "democracies" like to rotate their heads of state to give a meaningless apperance of democracy. This is unnecessary in Cuba because as an actual democracy, people have real control over the direction of the government, so it would be pointless to put on a show for them that way. Castro is increadibly popular so the national assembly continues to nominate and approve him every five years, because all of the national assemblypeople know that they would be recalled by their constituents (who, unlike in western phoney-"democracy", can recall any elected official and veto any legislative action at any time by referendum and popular recall votes) if they don't. In real democracies like Cuba people continue to support the politicans they like until they do something they don't, and Castro hasn't done anything to cause a loss of popularity yet.


5) Article 62: "None of the freedoms which are recognized for citizens can be exercised contrary to... the existence and objectives of the socialist state, or contrary to the decision of the Cuban people to build socialism and communism.

Wow Emma, that was some very *creative* editing there. The actual Article 62 of the Cuban 1992 constitution reads:

"ARTICLE 62. None of the freedoms which are recognized for citizens can be exercised contrary to what is established in the Constitution and by law, or contrary to the existence and objectives of the socialist state, or contrary to the decision of the Cuban people to build socialism and communism. Violations of this principle can be punished by law."

All that means is that constitutional rights cannot be used as a defense when violating other constitutional rights, they cannot exceed what s established n the consttution. Cuban police or prosecutors for instance, cannot use their right to free speech to threaten or manipulate someone in order to compell testimony, because while freedom of speech is protected in the Cuban Constitution, compelling or pressuring testimony is prohibited in the same document.


6) the PCC and voting; lacking multi-party seats

Cuba has a non-partisan electoral system which means that people run for elections as individuals rather than as part of a party list or with the nomination of party (for instance, multiple Communist Party memebers will compete against each other for the same seats despite being members of the same party).

There are in fact multiple Cuban political parties and organizations, and like the Communist Party, no one runs candidates, rather everyone runs as an individual although they may have different affiliations. Most elected officials in Cuba are Communist Party members because the opposition is increadibly unpopular so they obviously don't attract many supporters.

However they still compete for elections, they just ususally lose, but some of them have gotten elected such as the christian opposiition members on the national assembly.


7) the salaries of average Cubans

"Salary" comparisons between Cuba and capitalist states are totally irrelevent because the Cuban economy is a socialist economy that fixes prices, subsidizes things far under cost, in addition to extensive rations and credits that cover all of Cuban's basic living needs (housing, utilities, food, etc) which is where most of people's income in capitalist economies go to.


8) introduction of dollar at tourist attractions where peso is not accepted (subsequently barring ordinary Cubans)

This isn't true actually. First of all, the dollar economy only existed during the 1990's special economic period, this was all shut down years ago after the economic recovery was complete. Secondly, tourist attractions charged foriegners in US dollars at rates that Cubans would not be able to afford (which were then used to buy goods from abroad) but they had a seperate price structure for locals who payed far less money in Pesos.


9) most Cubans effectively banned from traveling to Havana, and

This is a pure fiction.


10) a massive police presence which enforces this ban

Again, pure fiction, Cuba actually has minimal police and a tiny defense budget.


11) whites in Cuba (though only 37% of populace) hold many of key power positions

Well, its hardly unexpected given that whites are a large minority, so obviously any large majority is going to have a lot of represention. In any case there are many more whites than blacks in Cuba, most Cubans have both african and european ancestory so its hard to tell.


12) lack of freedom of speech (many won't crique Castro's regime) which shows a,

This is an utter lie. There are no restrictions on freedom of speech and people publish anti-castro and anti-government and pro-american journals and newspapers and crap openly in Cuba...they might not bother reading them but they don't ban them; the pro-american anti-government opposition holds (tiny) public rallies and the cops don't even bother showing up, let alone trying to break them up.


13) strong secret police presence

This is again a complete lie. Not only does the Cuban government not arrest any political opposition (unless they break some other law), but the Cuban police do not even attempt to control, or even attend, opposition rallies.


But this doesn't mean we must forgo any meaningful discussion about Castro's politics.

and yet, you've not been engaging in meaningful discussion youv'e been repeating unsubstantiated rumors.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Tragic nailed alot of it, and I don't have a ton of time.. but one thing about "freedom of press". First of all, capitalists have no freedoms to publish anything in socialism. Secondly, no newspapers were ever banned in Cuba. In the immediate aftermath of the revolution no one bought the pro-US bourgeois press, and so they stopped printing it.

Next, about Castro's "wealth"..


Forbes was only making speculation, they say so in the article that they actually don't have proof that Castro has any money...they just assumed that he was taking money out of nationalized industry; so they gave him an arbitrary percentage of the Cuban GDP.

Actually comrade, I'm almost possitive that they were saying Cuba's entire wealth belonged to Fidel. That's how they came up with that bullshit.

As I and others have pointed out before here, even Catro's enemies amongst the gusanos in Miami and in the right-wing rag The Miami Herald have to admit that he's not well off at all.. especially for a head of state:

see: http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/fidel/castro-family.htm

"Added exile author Norberto Fuentes: ``The most
avaricious cabinet minister lives no better than the
average Cuban in Miami. He has one car, not two. An
air conditioner in the car? No air conditioner.''

"Dalia Soto del Valle is a former schoolteacher from the south-central city of Trinidad who met Castro during the literacy campaigns of the 1960s, said Fuentes, a member of Cuba's inner circles who met her several times before he defected in 1994.

Now in her late 50s, she is regarded as warm, but as austere as Castro himself..."

"They [Castro's kids] have privileged positions but they don't seem to have many luxuries ... certainly not like the `juniors' in Mexico,'' said Latell, referring to the Mexican slang for rich kids."

"Fidel Castro and wife Dalia live in a two-house complex in western Havana. The living room of the main house is described by visitors as furnished with simple wood and leather sofas and chairs and Cuban handicrafts.

"The only luxury visible to visitors, said Fuentes, is a big-screen television that Castro uses to satisfy his interest in foreign news reports and videos secretly recorded by Cuba's intelligence services. "

"The houses of Fidel and Raúl are large but simply appointed

"Fidel and Dalia's compound in western Havana is equipped with one outdoor tennis and basketball court. It is ringed with pine trees that block off outside views, and surrounded by electronic fences that detect intruders.

"An acquaintance who has visited both Fidel and Raúl's homes described them as very large by Cuban standards but relatively simply appointed with Cuban-made furniture, with Raúl's home ``a bit nicer than Fidel's.''

"Of course, anything the hijos de papi [sons of daddy] want they get -- even if no other Cuban ever sees this stuff. Computers, nice houses, vacations, you name it. But luxuries? With few exceptions, not really,'' said Fuentes.

"I think that when this [Castro's rule] ends, most people in Cuba will be outraged by the relative comforts of the leadership,'' he added, ``and most people in Miami will be surprised by their low level of life.''