Comments on: Reflections on Cuba: Human Rights and Free Speech (Part I) http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2007/09/reflections-on-cuba-human-rights-and-free-speech-part-i/ a radical newsletter in the struggle for peace and social justice Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:16:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Armando Simon http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2007/09/reflections-on-cuba-human-rights-and-free-speech-part-i/#comment-9156 Armando Simon Sat, 17 Nov 2007 04:31:50 +0000 http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2007/09/reflections-on-cuba-human-rights-and-free-speech-part-i/#comment-9156 It is truly fascinating to see that after the collapse of the Soviet Empire, the destruction of the Khmer Rouge and the revelation of all the crimes committed under Marxist rule, no matter where in the world, one still finds true believers in the West who praise totalitariansim and distort facts and expect others to share in their delusion. During the great famine caused by Stalin in the Ukraine, millions died of starvation, yet intellectuals sympathetic to the regime who were at the scene would write articles in the West about how the imperialist powers had exaggerated the minor discomforts of the people's heroic efforts to modernize the Soviet Union. Hey, some of them even got a Pulitzer for their reporting! (Surprise, surprise) People like Doug Morris are legion in universities (I know, I've worked in a few) and in the mass media; their purpose is to rewrite history, brainwash students and ultimately work for a return of Marxist totalitarianism. If anyone is interested in being truly informed by reading the humane history of Marxism, here's a very, very short list: The Gulag Archipelago---Solshenitzin The God that Failed---Koestler Against All Hope---Valladares (on Cuba) The Great Terror---Conquest Bitter Harvest---Conquest (on Ukraine) First They Killed my Father (on Cambodia) The Bridge at Andau---Michener (on Hungary) The True Believer---Hoffer (on fanaticism of all stripes, esp. by intellectuals) The Passionate State of Mind---Hoffner (very thin book, very good) Huber Matos (on Cuba) Fall of a Titan---Gouzenko Life and Death in Shanghai---Cheng The Chrysanthemums and other stories---Jicai (on china) Almost certainly nobody reading this will even bother to pick up one of these books; most Americans are dumb as a doorknob, interested only in stuff like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Others, like Morris, would rather die, or have their hands amputated, than pick up and read through a critique of the dictatorships that they salivate over. But, hey, it's worth a shot in the offhand chance that someone with integrity and with brains will chance on this list. It is truly fascinating to see that after the collapse of the Soviet Empire, the destruction of the Khmer Rouge and the revelation of all the crimes committed under Marxist rule, no matter where in the world, one still finds true believers in the West who praise totalitariansim and distort facts and expect others to share in their delusion. During the great famine caused by Stalin in the Ukraine, millions died of starvation, yet intellectuals sympathetic to the regime who were at the scene would write articles in the West about how the imperialist powers had exaggerated the minor discomforts of the people’s heroic efforts to modernize the Soviet Union. Hey, some of them even got a Pulitzer for their reporting! (Surprise, surprise)

People like Doug Morris are legion in universities (I know, I’ve worked in a few) and in the mass media; their purpose is to rewrite history, brainwash students and ultimately work for a return of Marxist totalitarianism.

If anyone is interested in being truly informed by reading the humane history of Marxism, here’s a very, very short list:

The Gulag Archipelago—Solshenitzin
The God that Failed—Koestler
Against All Hope—Valladares (on Cuba)
The Great Terror—Conquest
Bitter Harvest—Conquest (on Ukraine)
First They Killed my Father (on Cambodia)
The Bridge at Andau—Michener (on Hungary)
The True Believer—Hoffer (on fanaticism of all stripes, esp. by intellectuals)
The Passionate State of Mind—Hoffner (very thin book, very good)
Huber Matos (on Cuba)
Fall of a Titan—Gouzenko
Life and Death in Shanghai—Cheng
The Chrysanthemums and other stories—Jicai (on china)

Almost certainly nobody reading this will even bother to pick up one of these books; most Americans are dumb as a doorknob, interested only in stuff like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Others, like Morris, would rather die, or have their hands amputated, than pick up and read through a critique of the dictatorships that they salivate over. But, hey, it’s worth a shot in the offhand chance that someone with integrity and with brains will chance on this list.

]]> By: Been There http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2007/09/reflections-on-cuba-human-rights-and-free-speech-part-i/#comment-6559 Been There Fri, 28 Sep 2007 15:15:24 +0000 http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2007/09/reflections-on-cuba-human-rights-and-free-speech-part-i/#comment-6559 It is obvoius you are completely delusional. As a frequent traveler to Cuba that counts many Cubans as friends I can assure you they are continually oppressed and live in a police state. I have seen people put into police cars and taken away for simply talking with me on the street. The embargo is a farce, a smoke screen. It is there for the US to garner votes and more than that it is there so Castro has something to point to as the root of all of Cuba's problems. The US ships huge quantities of food to Cuba. The rest of the world can trade freely with Cuba. The Embargo is not the root of the problems in Cuba. The root of the problem is the government. Socialism has never worked....EVER. As for free health care, as often is touted as a plus in Canada, is never free. Somebody has to pay. In Canada we pay through our tax system. It is a hidden cost so it is thought of as free. The problem with the Cuban system is access to medication and the sanitary aspects of the hospitals. Sanitary conditions require little or no money. They could do this if they wanted to. As for real socialism where everyone is treated equally; do you truly think for a second that the average Cuban is getting the same medical care as Castro. I think not. As for Cuba not having death squads we just talk with some of the old-timers that are willing to share their stories.I have had long conversations with some. I have actually thought about producing a documentary but am worried for the lives of these men. One man I talked with told me about fighting in Angola and how it was easy to tell a poor farmer that his life could be better. He also said embargo or not, if socialism has not worked in 50 years it never will. I always amazed as liberals idolize Che as some kind of hero. He murdered many people. No courts, no due process, just a bullet in the head as a warning to others. As for the national demonstrations, most people there are bussed in from schools and places of work. They do not go freely of there own accord. If they do not follow the party line there lives are made difficult. One friend who I know is far from being a communist was able to get a phone, one of the few in his apartment block. To get it he had to show he was willing to play along. Another friend in order to get a fishing license had to show that his family were good communists for 3 generations. Take off you rose colored glasses. Talk to real people. The maybe you will learn the truth form real experience. It is obvoius you are completely delusional. As a frequent traveler to Cuba that counts many Cubans as friends I can assure you they are continually oppressed and live in a police state. I have seen people put into police cars and taken away for simply talking with me on the street.

The embargo is a farce, a smoke screen. It is there for the US to garner votes and more than that it is there so Castro has something to point to as the root of all of Cuba’s problems. The US ships huge quantities of food to Cuba. The rest of the world can trade freely with Cuba. The Embargo is not the root of the problems in Cuba. The root of the problem is the government. Socialism has never worked….EVER.

As for free health care, as often is touted as a plus in Canada, is never free. Somebody has to pay. In Canada we pay through our tax system. It is a hidden cost so it is thought of as free. The problem with the Cuban system is access to medication and the sanitary aspects of the hospitals. Sanitary conditions require little or no money. They could do this if they wanted to. As for real socialism where everyone is treated equally; do you truly think for a second that the average Cuban is getting the same medical care as Castro. I think not.

As for Cuba not having death squads we just talk with some of the old-timers that are willing to share their stories.I have had long conversations with some. I have actually thought about producing a documentary but am worried for the lives of these men. One man I talked with told me about fighting in Angola and how it was easy to tell a poor farmer that his life could be better. He also said embargo or not, if socialism has not worked in 50 years it never will.

I always amazed as liberals idolize Che as some kind of hero. He murdered many people. No courts, no due process, just a bullet in the head as a warning to others.

As for the national demonstrations, most people there are bussed in from schools and places of work. They do not go freely of there own accord. If they do not follow the party line there lives are made difficult. One friend who I know is far from being a communist was able to get a phone, one of the few in his apartment block. To get it he had to show he was willing to play along. Another friend in order to get a fishing license had to show that his family were good communists for 3 generations.

Take off you rose colored glasses. Talk to real people. The maybe you will learn the truth form real experience.

]]> By: Mulga Mumblebrain http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2007/09/reflections-on-cuba-human-rights-and-free-speech-part-i/#comment-5806 Mulga Mumblebrain Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:55:34 +0000 http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2007/09/reflections-on-cuba-human-rights-and-free-speech-part-i/#comment-5806 I think, Karamchand, that your namesake M.K.Gandhi would have stoutly approved of Cuba, and its heroic resistance to brutal Western, racist, imperialism. Amongst all its many achievements despite blockade and terror, I believe Cuba has one great advantage. They have a type of human garbage disposal, where the sort of creatures who would rather live in a sewer of greed and contention like the USA, can be safely excreted in that general direction. This not only raises the moral level in both countries, but rids Cuba of the very type of avaricious and vicious scum that have turned all the other countries of the Americas, save perhaps Canada, into swamps of inequality, suffering, and not infrequently, mass murder, rape, torture and terror. I think, Karamchand, that your namesake M.K.Gandhi would have stoutly approved of Cuba, and its heroic resistance to brutal Western, racist, imperialism. Amongst all its many achievements despite blockade and terror, I believe Cuba has one great advantage. They have a type of human garbage disposal, where the sort of creatures who would rather live in a sewer of greed and contention like the USA, can be safely excreted in that general direction. This not only raises the moral level in both countries, but rids Cuba of the very type of avaricious and vicious scum that have turned all the other countries of the Americas, save perhaps Canada, into swamps of inequality, suffering, and not infrequently, mass murder, rape, torture and terror.

]]> By: Karamchand http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2007/09/reflections-on-cuba-human-rights-and-free-speech-part-i/#comment-5726 Karamchand Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:22:56 +0000 http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2007/09/reflections-on-cuba-human-rights-and-free-speech-part-i/#comment-5726 In a few words, I want to ask to Mr. Morris if he went to Cuba with their eyes closed. Perhaps he should ask or listen to other sources and not only the official. In a few words, I want to ask to Mr. Morris if he went to Cuba with their eyes closed. Perhaps he should ask or listen to other sources and not only the official.

]]> By: Walter Lippmann http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2007/09/reflections-on-cuba-human-rights-and-free-speech-part-i/#comment-5644 Walter Lippmann Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:04:35 +0000 http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2007/09/reflections-on-cuba-human-rights-and-free-speech-part-i/#comment-5644 Thanks for a wonderful interview. I look forward to the rest of the interview. I took the liberty and sent it out to the readers of the CubaNews list, an electronic news service which is now in its eighth year. It's basically a free Yahoo news group which compiles a wide range of materials, pro and con, about Cuba, its people, politics and culture, and life within the island and affecting it in the Cuban diapora abroad. My father and his parents lived in Cuba from 1939 to 1942. They were German Jewish refugees from Hitler’s holocaust. That’s where my own interest in Cuba comes from. Cuban society today represents an effort to build an alternative to the way life was under the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Some things work, some don’t. It has its flaws and contradictions, as well as having some solid achievements. No society is perfect. But we can certainly learn a few things from Cuba’s experience. Details on the Yahoo newsgroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ Thanks for a wonderful interview. I look forward to the rest of the interview. I took the liberty and sent it out to the readers of the CubaNews list, an electronic news service which is now in its eighth year. It’s basically a free Yahoo news group which compiles a wide range of materials, pro and con, about Cuba, its people, politics and culture, and life within the island and affecting it in the Cuban diapora abroad.

My father and his parents lived in Cuba from 1939 to 1942. They were German Jewish refugees from Hitler’s holocaust. That’s where my own interest in Cuba comes from. Cuban society today represents an effort to build an alternative to the way life was under the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Some things work, some don’t. It has its flaws and contradictions, as well as having some solid achievements. No society is perfect. But we can certainly learn a few things from Cuba’s experience.

Details on the Yahoo newsgroup:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/

]]>