Proof of this?

Based on my experiences in and around Calle Ocho in Miami,Little Havana being HQ of the anti-Castro exiles,I'd urge a little perspective on the objectivity of such accounts..since they are about as objective IMHO as say Putin is about Crimea...

But have you asked your neighbour (neighbor?)if he is a supporter of the opposition who wanted to overthrow Castro by armed force in those days..would he have liked the illegal Bay of Pigs operation 10 years earlier to have succeeded.

Many countries don't grant visas to those wanting to overthrow the current government..THE US being one..

Yes,you have some legitimacy in terms of "human rights"..(human rights also encompassing the rights to education and health care) he was authoritarian and clamped down OTT on opposition and was,as I've said "paranoid"....but is that surprising when the world's dominant power (egged on by a loony bunch of extremist exiles in Miami) is constantly upping the ante,trying to destabilise you and just waiting to overthrow you?

But,on balance,yes you have a point (though not the whole point) IMO) so I'll downgrade to 6/10 as opposed to D Cameron (3/10),T May (1/10) and the bonkers boys down in Calle Ocho (0/10)..

Edited by legaleagle (26 Nov 2016 12.31pm)

New England Journal of Medicine 2013 (bear in mind the comparator is other "underdeveloped " countries in the region,not the US or Canada).

"This highly structured, prevention-oriented system has produced positive results. Vaccination rates in Cuba are among the highest in the world. The life expectancy of 78 years from birth is virtually identical to that in the United States. The infant mortality rate in Cuba has fallen from more than 80 per 1000 live births in the 1950s to less than 5 per 1000 — lower than the U.S. rate, although the maternal mortality rate remains well above those in developed countries and is in the middle of the range for Caribbean countries.3,4 Without doubt, the improved health outcomes are largely the result of improvements in nutrition and education, which address the social determinants of health. Cuba's literacy rate is 99%, and health education is part of the mandatory school curriculum. A recent national program to promote acceptance of men who have sex with men was designed in part to reduce rates of sexually transmitted disease and improve acceptance of and adherence to treatment. Cigarettes can no longer be obtained with monthly ration cards, and smoking rates have decreased, though local health teams say it remains difficult to get smokers to quit. Contraception is free and strongly encouraged. Abortion is legal but is seen as a failure of prevention."

Edited by legaleagle (26 Nov 2016 12.37pm)

Its the private education Matt something they don't have in Cuba. It always amazes me that the people who big up these countries never have the balls to move over there Lock,stock......

Pro USA & Israel

And, of course, your post doesn't have a wiff of the sanctimonious, self righteous, 'enlightened leftie' about it, does it?

"That was fun and to round off the day, I am off to steal a charity collection box and then desecrate a place of worship.” - Smokey, The Selhurst Arms, 26/02/02

Nothing to do with left or right!! Not sure how I gave off that whiff...But I'm sure you'll tell me