Remember that Seinfeld episode when Kramer imported some "Cubans", which were assumed to be cigars....but they turned out to be Dominican people? I cant remember how it finished, but I'm sure it was humour-plus
R.I.P.
It was mentioned on the radio, I should have fact checked before posting. According to the UN they are ranked 40th slightly ahead of the US.
As far as the wages goes, it's kind of apples and oranges because we're comparing not just rich and poor but completely different ideologies. Also the US embargo kind of defied logic and was extremely hypocritical, but for some reason it became this huge thing that was disproportionately hated, like immigration, socialism, the war on drugs, etc. so probably political suicide to remove, Americans don't trade with Cuba, even if most Americans have no idea why.
Yes, the US backed Batista to stage a coup against the democratically elected Cuban government and backed his regime for several years, during this time Batista sold national assets to US interests, suppressed a number of rights, and killed tens of thousands of people. All with US backing and even US aid.
After Fidel and Guevara took power the US set up sanctions and put trade embargoes in place and demanded free elections in Cuba.
It defied logic because a dictator with US backing overthrew the democratically elected government in the first place. Despite the fact that he was horribly oppressive and turned the country into a plaything for the rich, the US kept backing him. Batista was far worse than Fidel.
The US also trades with plenty of countries with bad humanitarian records, the problem with Cuba is that they had the gall to set up an evil socialist country (gasp) right in the backyard of the US, and Socialism is far worse than any oppression in the eyes of some it seems.
@Leggy comparing incomes between Cuba and Bali is really comparing apples and oranges, they have two completely different systems of economics and therefore the value of money is different. However, of course Cuba is going to have low wages when it's effectively isolated from any trading partner in the region, I'm sure they had a very good quality of life when they could trade and were supported by the Soviet Union. You also can't compare wages in a communist country with a capitalist one because of the amount of support people get from the state, wages are higher in the far East of Europe now than when they were part of the Soviet Union but the standard of living is much lower.
Agree completely with this. No fan of Castro at all, and can't stand the canonising of him that seems to be going on from the left, but to ignore the part US hypocrisy played in the whole saga is to stick your head in the sand.
Correct Ryan, And Cuba got well looked after by the then USSR for allowing them (The USSR) into their country and keeping the US on their toes. There were no innocents in this. Castro have some very bad points as have been pointed out, the education and health parts I mentioned were and are good things but I acknowledge, not the only things good or bad.
As a side note/question, are Cuban Cigars still illegal in the USA?
Pretty sure Obama lifted the sanctions a couple of years ago.
Ray Columbus - She's a mod and other 60s classics. RIP Ray
Obviously hugely influential, not just because his cover of She's a Mod was the first NZ song to be number one overseas but because of his management of NZ bands in his later years.
Chapecoense First XI
And the others on the plane
allegedly 6 survivors - fingers crossed but this , like any air crash, is very sad. RIP to all those deceased.
Ray Columbus was a NZ icon RIP
http://plus55.com/sports/2016/11/chapecoense-rare-case-success-brazilian-football
From just two days ago.
allegedly 6 survivors - fingers crossed but this , like any air crash, is very sad. RIP to all those deceased.
Heartbreaking news that plane crash. RIP.
Andrew Sachs AKA manuel of fawlty Towers fame has dies aged 86 R.I.P
Andrew Sachs AKA manuel of fawlty Towers fame has dies aged 86 R.I.P
Adios Manuel...Thanks for the laughs.
Gonna be far more fondly remembered than those 2 bits of filth who pranked you.
Muchas gracias Manuel. Brilliant acting for a German born pom!
Peter Vaughan aka Maester Aemon from Game of Thrones
He was a good charactor actor. He appeared in Porridge a few times too.
Peter Vaughan aka Maester Aemon from Game of Thrones
And now his watch has ended
AA Gill, master restaurant critic, you either loved him or hated him R.I.P
AA Gill, master restaurant critic, you either loved him or hated him R.I.P
The haka - "Morris dancing choreographed by Quentin Tarantino."
AA Gill, master restaurant critic, you either loved him or hated him R.I.P
Nope, never heard of him.
AA Gill, master restaurant critic, you either loved him or hated him R.I.P
Nope, never heard of him.
very controversial writer, probably better known in europe and America
Peter Vaughan aka Maester Aemon from Game of Thrones
And now his watch has ended
That deserved a 'This'
Paul Henry's mother. He might not be everyone's cup of tea but I prefer him to Hosking.
Fortunately we have a choice and can choose neither of them, the last time I watched Paul Henry he was still on TV1, they did an article on the Phoenix and afterwards he said something like "Who cares about poof ball" and then proceeded into a story about him traveling around Hollywood stargazing at celebrity houses, no doubt at the tax payers expense.
Peter Brabrook, ex Chelsea, West Ham, Orient and England.
Zsa Zsa Gabor aged 99. She's off to Greener Acres?
Zsa Zsa Gabor aged 99. She's off to Greener Acres?
That was a cool show! Getting out on 99 is unlucky!
Zsa Zsa Gabor aged 99. She's off to Greener Acres?
Nice...but the wrong Gabor: you're thinking of Eva...
True, they look the same. This is what happens with twins?
True, they look the same. This is what happens with twins?
Not twins.
Wow, Feb 6th is or was her birthday, 7 weeks short of one hundred, bummer
John Glenn, first US astronaut and third man overall to orbit the earth. Also a Navy flier in WW2.
Henry Heimlich, inventor of... yep, you guessed it.
Rick Parfitt - Guitarist for Status Quo
RIP George Michael, it was his last Christmas
This has been a horrible year for deaths in the music world.
Wouldn't have thought he was 53... shark aye - what a year.
RIP the Alexandrov Ensemble, they may not be well known here but they were absolutely huge for probably half the planet. I just hope it wasn't terrorism as a retaliation is the last thing we need.
Liz Smith
From the Royle Family
Peter Brabrook, ex Chelsea, West Ham, Orient and England.
shark i hadnt realised he'd died
that was this morning Liz Smith's death at 95
Valerie Fairman age 23 dead 21st december
a former reality television personality who starred on the MTV series "16 and Pregnant," died Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016, in Coatsville, Pennsylvania, of a suspected overdose