Democracy in Cuba

[Ned]

Castro limits internet access and to the extent that there is access, denies Cuban's the right to surf the World Wide Web particulary to opposition web sites. Communications Minister Ignacio Gonzalez told a newspaper recently "that regulating Internet usage was a democratic way to share limited resources in developing countries."

The only people who are authorized to surf the web are, and can you believe this, members of the communist party.

Ordinary people can get access, but no right to surf, if they pay 8 cents a minute in US Dollars, a prohibitive fee to almost every Cuban.

http://vietpage.com/archive_news/politics/2002/Dec/2/0084.html

For those who believe in Fidel and in communism, is this one more example of a communist leader not living up to the ideals of Marx? Or is this one more example of what communists mean by "Democracy"?

(And, BTW, Marx predicted the collapse of capitalism due to inherent conflicts. What we see in the real world is collapse of communist governments because of inherent conflicts such as this. They all restrict access to information -- for a reason. They lie.)

[chequita guevara]

If government lies bother you, why do you like Bush so much.

[Spiffor]

It is obvious Castro is an authoritarian ******* with quite some blood on his hands. It's obvious he wants to limit the access to world wide web, and prefers the Cubans to have as limited access to non-controlled sites as possible.

Now, he's one of the least despicable authoritarian *******s in the area (for some strange reason, I never see any right winger cringe at all these other nice regimes in the caribbean; maybe that means they are oh so perfectly fine)

[Japher]

I think Castro is afraid that his people might be able to surf this web all the way to Florida. I think someone should let him know that it's not actually "surfing", that the word is more like slang...

[Sava]

Ned, is China collapsing? just curious... if you hate Communism so much, why do you watch Fox News? Rupert Murdoch has billion dollar TV deals with the Stalinist Regime. You support Stalinisn neddy...

let me ask, do you shop at Walmart?

I think Castro is an authoritarian asswipe, but to indict Marxism based upon what Castro does is extremely ignorant. Marxism isn't what is in Cuba... nor has it existed any where else.

If only the dopey commie bashers understood this, I wouldn't have to keep reminding them.

[SlowwHand]

Is China collapsing??
That's an after-the-fact question. Unless one takes the position that they never had any position to collapse from, which one could certainly maintain.

[Sava]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
Is China collapsing??
That's an after-the-fact question. Unless one takes the position that they never had any position to collapse from, which one could certainly maintain.

I think you are underestimating China... when Pax Americana ends, guess who will probably be the dominant power on the planet?

[Shi Huangdi]

This is old stuff from Castro. He also only allows special radios that are only receptive to government approved stations. It caused a major rift in relations a few years back when the US representative there started handing out shortwave radios.

What is Castro so afriad of?

[Shi Huangdi]

I think Castro is an authoritarian asswipe, but to indict Marxism based upon what Castro does is extremely ignorant. Marxism isn't what is in Cuba... nor has it existed any where else.

If only the dopey commie bashers understood this, I wouldn't have to keep reminding them.

Very few actual socialists would agree with you on this point, that none of the Socialist states of the 20th century were in fact socialist.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Shi Huangdi
What is Castro so afriad of?

That the opposition overthrows him, of course.

Since the stability of his regime stands on faked enthusiasm, disinformation, and mild brutality in comparison with other kinds of authoritarian regimes, he cannot allow the population to become outright hostile.
The military or the police is not prepared for wanton slaughter, for the physical suppression of each and every person that disagrees. So, Castro has to prevent disagreement by softer ways.

[Sava]

I agree Shi... freedom of information is vital. I wish Cuba was a free society, but I don't understand the hypocrisy from Cuba bashers, especially when the same people are watching Stalinist supporting Fox News and shopping at Stalinist supporting Walmart.

And in the grand scheme of things, Castro is harmless compared to the oppressive regimes of our "allies" in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other members of the "coalition of the willing" like Uzbekistan, etc...

If you are going to have outrage against authoritarian regimes, be consistent and attack everyone... not just the ones who don't cooperate with US foreign policy.

[Ned]

I raise this question because all prior examples of "communism" appear to rely on censorship and control of the media. All. Not some. All.

This is not an aberation.

This has to be inherent in communism.

And the reason it is inherent is obvious.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Shi Huangdi


Very few actual socialists would agree with you on this point, that none of the Socialist states of the 20th century were in fact socialist.

I don't give half a **** what those dopes think... Marxism isn't a simple economic policy, nor is it a structure of government... it's a cultural way of life.

I think Marxism is silly because it relies on the natural "good" of human beings. Which I don't believe in. But I wish people would attack Marxism on legitimate points and not mischaracterize authoritarian regimes like the Soviet Union or Cuba as Marxist.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Ned
I raise this question because all prior examples of "communism" appear to rely on censorship and control of the media. All. Not some. All.

This is not an aberation.

This has to be inherent in communism.

And the reason it is inherent is obvious.

if you think this, then you don't have a clue to what communism is... go to your library and read... educate yourself

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Shi Huangdi
What is Castro so afriad of?

U.S. lies, coordination of terrorist activity sponsored by the Miami Cubans, etc.