Maybe Bush doesn't have to drag a few teachers out into a field. By his policies he can kill thousands upon thousands without actually pulling the trigger.
--------------- "I am a Cuban national who has lived in the UK for the past five years, and who has therefore experienced life under both a command and a market economy. In my view, Ed Vulliamy's comparison of the 'Castro regime' with that of Stalin is unbalanced and lacking in historical context (OM, last week). In a Stalinist regime, Vulliamy would probably never even have met Oswaldo Paya, let alone interviewed him. Paya would never have been able to present his demand for democratisation, backed by 11,000 signatures, to the National Assembly. It is precisely because the Cuban constitution makes provision for such representations that Paya is able to present his petition. If today's Havana were like Stalinist Moscow or St Petersburg, Paya would have been sent to a forced-labour camp. In an ideal world, reforms of the state structure such as devolution of power and constitutional reform happen in a gradual way. In my view, the gradual evolution of Cuba's democratic institutions could have begun a long time ago, were it not for the fact of the historical and actual hostility of the US. Juan Ram�n Moreno Forest Hill, London ------------------ How many street children did Ed Vulliamy see in Havana? In recent years the Cuban economy has grown between 3 and 4.7 per cent - partly a result of the tourism that he decries. A higher proportion of the tourist dollar (30 per cent) goes to the local economy than in any other Caribbean country - much of it into the education and health systems that outperform those in many Western countries (infant mortality in Havana is half that in Washington DC). Sadly there are political prisoners, and probably too many - didn't something similar happen on our own island when we were threatened by an expansionist empire on the neighbouring continent? If some believe that the Cuban government uses the blockade to legitimise restrictions on dissent, the answer is simple: lift it, so the Cubans can buy 'luxuries' such as paracetamol, and we'll see if the 'wartime' restrictions are lifted. Mark Burton Manchester " ---------------- How many educated Cubans have *you* spoken to recently? Have you ever been there? -Gel -----Original Message----- From: Gruss Gott [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Mr. Bush didn't personally take school teachers into a soccer field and execute them and then order a thousand more killed. Castro is a bad man, a very bad man. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Sams Teach Yourself Regular Expressions in 10 Minutes by Ben Forta http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=40 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:132272 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
