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

Yet more sanctimonious hypocrisy. Keep it up, comrade.

I wonder how honest the Cuban government is when it gives the figures to UNESCO. Even if true, that's surely a big price to pay for 50+ years of brutal dictatorship?

By the way, the WHO reckons Cuba is ranked 39th for medical care. Human Rights Watch, I think it is, has been reporting for a long time that access to quality medical care is largely restricted to party members, the elite, and wealthy foreign tourists who bring much needed foreign currency.

If we are to forgive and forget his brutal behavior because the literacy rate is high then, surely, by the same token we should give Batista credit for being in charge of one of the wealthiest countries in the Americas.

Just because Castro was right to oppose Batista (who was equally brutal) and American influence, I am not sure the resulting 57 years of oppression, mass murder, and corruption are justified.

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)

Great! Oh, but this is also from the same article: "Any visitor can see that Cuba remains far from a developed country in basic infrastructure such as roads, housing, plumbing, and sanitation."

Sounds wonderful. I suppose that too makes the 57 years of political oppression and mass political murder worth it.

By the way, did you just ignore that too?

Edited by NickinOX (26 Nov 2016 1.38pm)