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Saturday wrote:

Gramsci wrote:

Saturday wrote:they play his talk show here and it´s very sad actually...

Where are you? Most Latin TV is terrible... make the most TV is terrible. But have you seen Italian TV? I tell you, it is FUCKING AWFUL!

I´m from Uruguay, they play lots of Argentinean TV shows.

Cool, I'll be in Buenos Aires next week. I'm spending a couple of weeks visiting friends and getting some fresh air in Mendoza. I was thinking of taking the boat from BA to Montevideo, is the city worth visiting?

Hasta luego.

Gramsci wrote:

Rick Reuschel wrote:

Gramsci wrote:

sunlore wrote:Fidel Castro throws gay people in jail.

Past tense. One of my wife and I's good friends is a gay tailor in Habava. Things have changed vastly for the better over the past 15 years.

Sex tourism is a huge source of convertible currency. If repression has lessened it's not because of a shift in official policy but out of economic need. The file costs $3.50 in pdf if interested.
http://www.guisd.org/index.cfm?action=S ... %20Studies

A five year old article.

In fact my friend has lot a lot of trade in making outfits for the prostitutes since the massive crackdown on sex tourism in Cuba, he was grumbling about it when we were visiting him in 2003. Cuba is going for "health tourism" now there's more money in it. Entire charter flights of Italians fly down there one after the other. My wife's uncle and auntie went last year.

Anyway, I always thinks it's funny when people say things like what you've mentioned, as if this was somehow the particular to Cuba. I'm sure all the drug dealers and prostitutes in Mexico and Thailand and other bastions of democracy are much happier with their wonderful freedom...

It doesn't minimize the suffering in either place but neither the Mexican Revolution or Thai monarchy premised their legitimacy on eliminating the exploitation of women that took place under the previous gov't.

2000 was the first time the results of presidential elections were respected in Mexico. I would wait until after Fox leaves to throw around the word democracy with respect to Mexico. I can't speak to Thailand.

Other than being five years old the article is accurate?

Rick Reuschel wrote:Other than being five years old the article is accurate?

Maybe five years ago, but not now.

I only have the experience of what my friend in Havana has told me, but he told me last time we were there that he'd lost a lot of tailoring work because the government had all but wiped out sex tourism. I tend to listen to what my Cuban friends -who live on the island, not Miami- tell me, not what some"think tank" or "academic" says, they always tend to be biased.

Hell, I'm not going to tell you Cuba is some kind of Socialist paradise, it's not and I'm really am not a fan of Castro at all. But I have no problem saying that the Cuban government has had some very good success in a number of areas, especially health and education and that the rest of the "democratic" Latin American governments should hang their heads in shame that they don’t provide even 10% of the services that Cuba provides. There is no excuse for either Cuban state oppression or the appalling record that the rest of Latin American has at providing all their citizens with access to good healthcare, housing and education.

I don't really think I'm saying anything particularly controversial.

Gramsci wrote:

Rick Reuschel wrote:Other than being five years old the article is accurate?

Maybe five years ago, but not now.

I only have the experience of what my friend in Havana has told me, but he told me last time we were there that he'd lost a lot of tailoring work because the government had all but wiped out sex tourism. I tend to listen to what my Cuban friends -who live on the island, not Miami- tell me, not what some"think tank" or "academic" says, they always tend to be biased.

Hell, I'm not going to tell you Cuba is some kind of Socialist paradise, it's not and I'm really am not a fan of Castro at all. But I have no problem saying that the Cuban government has had some very good success in a number of areas, especially health and education and that the rest of the "democratic" Latin American governments should hang their heads in shame that they don’t provide even 10% of the services that Cuba provides. There is no excuse for either Cuban state oppression or the appalling record that the rest of Latin American has at providing all their citizens with access to good healthcare, housing and education.

I don't really think I'm saying anything particularly controversial.

I have never been and put no stock in the Miami Mafia of exile gusanos. I don't see the need to put academia or think tanks in quotes though.

I couldn't agree more with your assessment of the Cuban situation.

Rick Reuschel wrote:I have never been and put no stock in the Miami Mafia of exile gusanos. I don't see the need to put academia or think tanks in quotes though.

I couldn't agree more with your assessment of the Cuban situation.

With the quotes I was trying to show the link between the Miami mob and many reports on Cuba, often commissioned by exiles in Miami. I should have been clearer. But in the US especially so called "official reports" are offen commissioned by groups with an angle looking to prove their point of view. Of course there are good and valuable reports from Amnesty International on human rights, which are not good, and reports from the World Health Organisation which are very good.

I suppose I'm lucky to have good friends that live on the island, and their main complaint is that they’d like to go on holiday and see other countries. Most people that look at Cuba seem to think that Cubans hate their government and are itching for a massive change. From what most of the Cuban I've spoken have said they are very aware of the benefits that the revolution gave to Cuba but now think that the time is approaching to develop a stronger civil society and democracy, but with constitutional guarantees to maintain the same levels of public services not matter what party controls the government. From my experience Cubans are very well educated and very savvy as to their situation and the situation in the rest of Latin America. My friends are grateful for the stability that Castro’s government has given them over the past 50 years while the rest of Latin America was going through coups and mass killing. When Cuba changes, and it will, I very much doubt it will make the same mistakes that Russia made and as a consequence will be in a very good position to move up to a “developed country” status a lot quick than many of the countries in the region.

Castro once said “history will absolve me” and I think the old bastard will end up being right

6-4-3 wrote:4. Anyone above the age of 12 who plays soccer, plays because they can't hit a baseball, throw a football, stand on skates, make a basket, hand out towels or hold a female cheerleader over his head for more than two seconds.

I disagree here 6-4-3. Only because I like to watch and play soccer/football, and I am decent at baseball.

I am also older than 12.

It really is a beautiful game, definately the most beautiful of the the games that are essentially played on goal to goal playing fields (ie hockey, basketball, American Football, etc.). Soccer/football players are very skilled athletes that require speed, agility, strength, endurance, and finesse. I admit I don't like it as much as baseball and have given up watching it as avidly as I once did, but still it is quite beautiful.

As far as the fans go, you make some generalizations, but it is hard to argue this crap does not occur. (This behavior also happens to occur everyday, somewhere.) Soccer/football fans are usually channeling all of their passion and nationalism into being a spectator, and people's basic mechanism's of love for one's country can run as deep as they would for the hate of others. It's sad.

*BTW: I never call soccer: football. I also never call football: American Football. This was just for the benefit of a non-US reader. What dicks we are, Americans, with our renaming of sport and measuring in feet and yards!

rysie wrote:Arent you Scottish. you should hate football as well.

Some of us Scots were clever enough to abandon Scottish football at an early age and take to the Premiership instead.

richie tenenbaum wrote:

rysie wrote:Arent you Scottish. you should hate football as well.

Some of us Scots were clever enough to abandon Scottish football at an early age and take to the Premiership instead.

It does make me laugh because you shouldnt be a scrap as you are.

You do have some decent players. Like wales.

But I just dont understand it.

Soccer anyday over rounders. Sorry baseball.

rysie wrote:

richie tenenbaum wrote:

rysie wrote:Arent you Scottish. you should hate football as well.

Some of us Scots were clever enough to abandon Scottish football at an early age and take to the Premiership instead.

It does make me laugh because you shouldnt be a scrap as you are.

You do have some decent players. Like wales.

But I just dont understand it.

Soccer anyday over rounders. Sorry baseball.

Rounders! Ha, I saw a few pommies playing this in Regent's Park over the summer. I thought, "By jingos! there's some poms playing baseball". Only to be later informed by an English friend that "rounders" is a traditional English game which baseball comes from...

rysie wrote:

richie tenenbaum wrote:

rysie wrote:Arent you Scottish. you should hate football as well.

Some of us Scots were clever enough to abandon Scottish football at an early age and take to the Premiership instead.

It does make me laugh because you shouldnt be a scrap as you are.

You do have some decent players. Like wales.

But I just dont understand it.

Soccer anyday over rounders. Sorry baseball.

Yeah, Scots. You are not a scrap!

The Rangers are a beautiful team.

You are not in the European top.

But really, who wants to be Real Madrid? Those players look like women!