God bless the children.

Biology, after all, is the only solution to the Cuban problem.

http://www.geocities.com/pastorswatch/images/this_is_cuba.gif

Cuba - militarized child abuse!

Let's take this analysis one step further - by providing actual logic - and comparing Cuba's children to the US.

1) Broken homes: I am assuming you are talking about divorce, but the real issue is families that no longer function - or fathers not around. Cuba may have a similar divorce rate as the US, but US is surely the leader in truly "broken homes." Cuba's families are more like Sweeden's, where a divorce need not break up a home, than in the US. Compare rates of child abuse or the access to both parents and there is no comparision.

2) Housing safety - One-third of Americans live in substandard housing, according to Harvard U. In Cuba the number is 1 out of 4. This includes overcrowded tenements, improvised housing, problems with health and safety (i am a housing expert). You overestimate the housing problem in Cuba based on what is on diplay to tourists in old havana and centro. Most housing that is not 200 years old is in fine shape. The UN report on human settlements, found that: "In market economies, most of the poor live in slums and most slum dwellers are poor. However, in Cuba, this occurs less frequently because of relative tenure security, generally low-cost or free housing, and the restricted legal housing and land markets. Moreover, people living in substandard housing have access to the same education, health care, job opportunities and social security as those who live in formerly privileged neighbourhoods. Cuban slums are quite socially diverse, and poverty is relatively dispersed."

3) Church - Cuban children are not allowed to attend services? This is complete BS. You really must learn a bit more about this beloved country of yours.

4) Inferior food - Again nearly laughable. Have you seen what American children look like nowadays because of the junk they eat (let alone the destruction corporate farming has on the environment)? I guess fast food and vending machine food is progress for capitalists. Cuban children eat organic food that looks far more like the suggested food pyramid however, with grains, fruits and vegetables. Cubans are nearly up to 3000 calories a day, which was the pre-special period level.

5) Black market - are you implying that Cuba's black market is more harmful for kids than the US' violent drug and gang markets? Yes, there are informal markets and trading in Cuba, but how is this bad - or differ from the way one-third of the US operates?

6) Snitching - Telling on someone defrauding the government or taxpayers is a proper duty for anyone to learn indeed. Despite your fantasies, Cuba is not a place full of spies who care about punishing people's complaints about the system. CDRs actually take these things seriously and provide forums to solve these problems.

And of course, I trust I don't need to go compairing such trivial things as infant mortality rates, test scores, literacy rates, pediatrician visits, class sizes, graduation rates, college studies, exposure to sex and violence, rates of violence, teenage pregnancy, drug use, suicide rates, child abuse, etc.

But perhaps we should ask the UN or UNESCO what it thinks about the mal-adjusted and non-thinking kids in Cuba you claim exist. Did you know that Cuban 4th graders were so much more advanced than the rest of Latin America that researchers thought there was a mistake - they scored double the score than the average Latin kid... even more so in literature and math, where they even beat America's best and brightest.

Matthew, you speak out of ? Do you live or ever lived in Cuba? I did and so have many of the people in this forum. Is funny how someone like never live as a cuban in the island come over here and talk out of their ASS.

Where are you getting these facts? CNN ? Maybe hollywood newspapers. To argue with someone like you is useless. I would search and copy , paste one of my replies to that bigget of Erica. But i am not even going to bother.

Go back to the little hole you crawled under. You are one lucky bastard to come over here write a post out of your ass and live to tell about it.

BTW if Cuba is so great how come you live here? Wow, capitalism is not so bad when you think about it, right ?

MATTHEW.....YOU HAVE NO CLUE!!...It is better that you remain quiet than opening your mouth and removing all duobt that you are an idiot. For being an "expert" on housing you really do not know what is going on in Cuba. Do you know that their are still people in camps waiting for homes since a hurricanes that hit Cuba like 20 years ago!!! if you have never been to Cuba you don't know! Homes are falling on people roof leaks that flood the entire home, homes that are sinking into the ground cause they were built with out foundation, aprtment buildings that have no running water and if you live on the top floor everyday you have to carry water, no stairs you have to climb like a monkey up broken stairs to get you your apartment. and it just goes on and on some homes are so deplorable that they look like they are ready for demoliton and the family has to put a sign out side that says that their are actually people living in there so they don't tear it down with them still in there. CDR??? how dare you....they are only there to snitch on the entire block and are givin gifts for their information like TV's. You sit here and believe all these stats that come out of Cuba. Are you really that Stupid....apparently so...you dumb fuck it's people like you that confuse public oppinion.;

Matthew, having very limited knowledge of life in Cuba now, because I've never been there, and reading your post sounds like a nice place..........Oh ya and KISS MY ASS !!!

Matthew,
I have something for you, since you talk so goodly about Cuba, I think that you're the right person for me to propose this:
I have my parents in Cuba. I have a friend who has been totally harrased by the G2, he is married, has a single brother, a wife and two children. That makes seven people.
I want to exchange seven sane and responsible citizens for somebody like you. All the adults are professionals and the two kids are college students. GO LIVE IN CUBA which you like so much and let them come to the States, the same place that you despise so much and you will have all they have to lead a wonderful life. Let them have what you have here to lead the same sorry life you say you're leading. I am sure they will trade places with you soon.
Then we talk. Don't try to reply to me, because I have resons to believe you're a G2 snitch and I am using the same e-mail address that they have hijacked to send me hate mail. That's ok, isn't it?
Oh, you maybe want to build a raft for your trip to Cuba!

"Free Cuba Day"

When is "Feed Cuba Day"?

Let's take this analysis one step further - by providing actual logic - and comparing Cuba's children to the US.

/chortle

Mathew, you wouldnt know analyses or logic if they slapped you in the bootie.

The worse part about your comment in this thread isnt just its transparent idiocy, but your inability to recognize it as such.

I really feel kinda bad for you. I really do.

Val, there you go again talking about ass, Oh wait not kissing yours, slapping his,or his getting slapped not wait I am confused no I'am not he's an ass.

I said it in a comment the other day right here on BabaluBlog.com and MatthewGlesneGuevara just proved my theory correct: The participants in the Latin Leftist LoveFest are MIND-BOGGLINGLY STUPID.

Mateo, from under which rock did you crawl out of? Only a small reptillian brain would actually believe and spew the nonsense that emmanates from those bastions of the liberal left such as Harvard. Since you asked....

1. Broken homes, yes they break everyday and actually do collapse onto people, children are people too, remember? Social breakdown of the family? Yes that happened here in the US to Cuban families because castro separated them by keeping them there. Those over there are broken because everyone of those has somebody in jail or made dead.
By the way, we're not anything like Sweedes either.

2. The 200 year old houses ARE the good ones that are actually lasting, the cardboard and plank slums in Vedado that exist there now are not a new style of architecture, they are the result of the glorious revolution and are sub-sub-sub standard housing. I have seen better hunting dog kennels in Alabama. And by the way, how can poverty be "relatively displaced" in Cuba when fidel has told you and all your friends that he did away with it and everybody is equal? It is more like it has been dispersed all over, so what benchmark are your buddies measuring against?

3. Religion, yeah santeria is the only religion which the big kahuna and babalao fidel leaves alone. The Catholic church basically plays lip to fidel as to be not totally kicked out of Cuba. They know they're 2000 years old and that fidel will eventually be in hell, just a setback as far as they're concerned.
Try getting married by the Catholic church. Are kids getting first communion and given the sacraments? Yeah sure.
Church attendance? Unless by that you Mateo mean that going to church is just making an appearance.
The Babtist preachers are either in jail or closely watched, those that actually hold services are "trusted" somewhat.
Jews, there are hardly any left, most were smarter than the rest of us and boogied early in the game. Jehova's witnesses, find any alive not in jail, castro hates them as much as gays.
The church of the socialist state? Well actually, that one is allowed.

4 Food pyramid, you gotta be fucking kidding! Unless you mean the one in which castro is at the top and every one else is somewhere below. You probably meant to say the "Food Chain" where he is the top predator.
Cubans DO get about 3000 calories a day, problem is that the "day" comes every 2 weeks, just like my paycheck. By the way, I saw some American "children" at Can Cun and Daytona for spring break that looked pretty good.

5 Lets see, uhhmmmm! Cuban black market.... Shoes, clothes, food, gas, soap, medicines, books, car tires, parts! Essentials not found anywhere else in the island.
American black market.... drugs! Essentially found anywhere!
Why, they are just identical Maw! Ya think we could sell them cuberns some moonshine?

Snitching! Boy, let me learn you the cubern word! Dang! its called "chivatear" which is a lot more serious than that there snitching you talking 'bout. Mrs. Bobbie Lee smith and aunt Martha are more concerned with my dog a barkin' and those long haired hippies down the steert yonder than with my tax returns.
However, Mrs Cheita Gonzales Diaz y Perez local CDR biddy, is very concerned as to how much you seem to eat matches your ration booklet portions, who comes to visit and how many sheets of toilet paper you use per discharge amongst other things. AND she likes the power that she can wield with fidels goons against you if you piss her off.

And the trivial things? Well, lets just be honest.
You should not be discussing things you know nothing about and even more if you have made up your mind that you do not want to find out either.
After all, ignorance is temporary, stupidity is permanent, and you seem to be suffering from a chronic illness.

Test scores, well loopsy doo. Cuban Americans also test higher than their Latin American counterparts percentage wise, we also do better in higher education degrees than even WASPs and have a larger percentage earning above 30K and 50K a year than all other groups too. Of the wealties hispanics, We Gusano/Mariposa Cubans comprise over 50% being only 4% of the total hispanic population. Which is over 10 times the norm.

All without the help of fidel!

So it does not surprise me that those over there do well too.
Its called "character", Capiche Mateo?

Nuff' said

Cohetedude,
I was writing more or less in the same terms to that loghead of Matthew... but in Texan!
Somehow I thought that he would like to hear Texan close to his dirty ears.... I planned also to brand his hairy ass... But well, I read your post and I went back to fill my glass of rum after I laughed my air off...
Be good. And kick ol'Matt hard in the groin!

Querido Matt.

"Let's take this analysis one step further - by providing actual logic."

-In my experience I have found that anyone who needs to explain that they'll be using "actual logic," generally does so because they have no logical conclusions or burdens of proof to defend there point of view -as your post clearly illustrated.

1) "Compare rates of child abuse or the access to both parents and there is no comparision."

-Your scant bit of information is vague. For instance are we speaking population numbers or percents? And from what source?

2) "One-third of Americans live in substandard housing, according to Harvard U."

-Context is called for here: Substandard according to whose standards? Are you not aware that the most "substandard" housing in the US is a palace in Cuba? I work in substandard housing, and I can tell you as bad as it is in the US, it is far worse in Cuba.

3) "Cuban children are not allowed to attend services? This is complete BS. You really must learn a bit more about this beloved country of yours."

-Matt, as someone who is Cuban, and who works in the Church, this comment alone makes you an imbecil. Allowed and able are two different realities. Cuban children are ABLE to go to Church, but the reality is that the Government doesn't ALLOW it. And so the two notable consequences occur: 1) you are labeled as a threat to the Government thus hindering your future status in the Country, and 2) During Mass, or Worship, it is the common and a revolutionary duty to blast your home radios/T.V.s so as to obfuscate the service. Some services are so obfuscated that you can't even hear yourself pray.

4) "Organic foods"

-Yes yes yes, I have heard this before, very Canadian minded. However, what you don't seem to understand, with your lack of research, logic, and proof, is that Cuba exports this to other countries. You have obviously not heard of Cuban's making ends meet by grinding and frying banana peels and passing it off as ground meat? Matt in your divine logic please explain that if Cuba has all it's dietary needs met, why is there the need for an "informal market?" To what gain would a Cuban have buying food that the Government supposedly already gives?

5)"Illegal Cuban "Informal" Markets vs Illegal US drug trading"

-You have failed to logically show the interrelatedness of Cuban "informal" markets and US drug trade and Gang activity. There is as much Gang activity and Drug trade in Cuba as there is in the US. What makes the "informal" markets different, is that they are selling FOOD (3000 Calorie I'm sure), clothes, and other household items that the Government does not provide to everybody. You own recognition of the Black Market has proven your defense for Cuba inaccurate. If Cuba was so great as you paint it, then there wouldn't be the need for "informal" trading of goods that the government should already provide.

6) "Despite your fantasies, Cuba is not a place full of spies who care about punishing people's complaints about the system. CDRs actually take these things seriously and provide forums to solve these problems."

-You have never met a Cuban or been to Cuba. My family was, has been, and unfortunately still IS very involved politically in Cuba. And those family members who fought alongside (and I really do mean alongside) castro and then disagreed with the whole notion of communism were indeed spied on, were indeed betrayed by friends and family, and were indeed sentenced to labor camps, many were killed and those who were saved by political relatives escaped as quick as they can. Spies in Cuba is a real thing, and it has divided many families and friends.

"And of course, I trust I don't need to go compairing such trivial things as infant mortality rates, test scores, literacy rates, pediatrician visits, class sizes, graduation rates, college studies, exposure to sex and violence, rates of violence, teenage pregnancy, drug use, suicide rates, child abuse, etc."

-Of course you don't need to go into it, you have proven yourself inept as to going into anything.

"But perhaps we should ask the UN or UNESCO what it thinks about the mal-adjusted and non-thinking kids in Cuba you claim exist. Did you know that Cuban 4th graders were so much more advanced than the rest of Latin America that researchers thought there was a mistake - they scored double the score than the average Latin kid... even more so in literature and math, where they even beat America's best and brightest."

-Matt, what good is it to have brains, when you don't have the freedom to use it? 75 imprisioned journalists were most definitely bright, and look where it led them.

What is the source for the "statistics" from Cuba? No one has been able to verify stats from the the bastardo. There is no accountability.

matt didn't have a chance to go many places in Cuba and based his conclusions on the little he saw. I was there in 2000 and couldn't believe the number of buildings throughout Havana that were in disrepair. I walked over to where one of my aunts and one grandmother lived and found broken windows and accumulated garbage on the street.
Then I went to my hometown and saw the facade of a building where one of my mother's friend used to live. Just the facade, the back was all gone.
While in my hometown, I was witness to a spare dinner consisting of an omelette with ripe plantains for four adults and a child. Then my second cousin's husband peeled a pineapple to share at the table. No rice, no meat, no dessert. For Cubans who are so used to eating very sweet desserts like flan, rice pudding, etc., these have basically disappeared from the table. Where are you going to get the milk, eggs, flour and spices to prepare any dessert?
The school where my second cousin's grandchild attended was built when Castro was a child (I'm sure of it!) and looked the part, without any repairs done to it.
For anybody who lived in Cuba before, the country is in shambles. And then we have a jackass named matt who comes here to say how better things are compared to here. Well, I haven't seen an exodus of poor going to Cuba from the United States, matt. Will you be one of them?

Sonquacassal: Great response. I was just going to delete the guy because he wasn't worth my while to reply but you've done a marvellous job enlightening the intelligent people.

CB, Que pasa Y'all,

I'm glad you liked my southern lingo. After having been married to a southern gal for years, eating peeecan pai, grits (whatever that is) and collards as well as comida criolla, it could not be helped. I have met my honey halfway, she has become bien aplatanada and I was given honorary southern citizenship as well as the regular USA one.

Hell, I am now one of the first and original Cuban rednecks, I have been allowed to drive tru Klan territory unscathed as long as I wear my redman cap, pack a big wad of chewin' gum in my cheek, wear shit kickin' cowboy boots and drive my shinny crew cab 3/4 ton 4X4 chevy with the "Eat More Possum" sticker.

One of her uncle's Cajun friends asked me one time after I opened my mouth, "Wear yoo fron boy?", had to tell him I was from Baton Rouge and he said, Oh, dats gud, , nais ta metcha. c'mon hier an letchme learn ya hau to oper-ate this heer pee-rogue.

I got news for cagastro, he best quit calling these folks that are closer to him than the liberal northern devils, yankis, they are really beginning to resent it ever since I have been making them aware of that small detail. Between Lousianna, Mississippi, Alabama geogia and South Carolina, that gal's got more family and friends than some countrie's got people. And they all love the 2nd amendment too!

You herd that too Mateo, cacho-Cabron!

Probably need to change my handle to Cuban-Redneck now!