This sort of post reminds me of when East Germany (DDR) overtook the UK's per capita GDP. Yeah, right.
Visit Cuba, look at their industrial and farming sector infrastructure and machinery, compare and contrast with the Dominican or Guatemala, then chose where you'd prefer to live. Hint, there is not much of anything in Cuba which is shiny.
I tend to agree, however the murder statistics do give pause for thought. Why is it that most of Latin America is such a violent place?
This sort of post reminds me of when East Germany (DDR) overtook the UK's per capita GDP. Yeah, right.
Visit Cuba, look at their industrial and farming sector infrastructure and machinery, compare and contrast with the Dominican or Guatemala, then chose where you'd prefer to live. Hint, there is not much of anything in Cuba which is shiny.
I tend to agree, however the murder statistics do give pause for thought. Why is it that most of Latin America is such a violent place?
Apparently Castro was a "huge figure in our lives"
Maybe yours matey, maybe yours ...
C'mon, so Jeremy Corbyn isn't great with words and hasn't chosen absolutely the right ones in his eulogy. Fidel Castro was an exceptionally impressive figure. Of course things about the regime can be criticised, but slogans such as "200 million children sleep in the streets, and not one of them is Cuban" say a lot in Latin America. Maybe some British civil servants could call in the Cubans to sort out the NHS.
Have you been to Cuba? Do you really think that was anything more than a slogan?
I suggest you read up about the 'Special Period'
For some on the Left, anything can be excused for a state-run health service.
When I was there, there was still a state run health system, which was essentially emergency medicine. Great for the immediate emergency care, but medications had to be paid with US $ by the patient - no dollars, no medicine.
This sort of post reminds me of when East Germany (DDR) overtook the UK's per capita GDP. Yeah, right.
Visit Cuba, look at their industrial and farming sector infrastructure and machinery, compare and contrast with the Dominican or Guatemala, then chose where you'd prefer to live. Hint, there is not much of anything in Cuba which is shiny.
I tend to agree, however the murder statistics do give pause for thought. Why is it that most of Latin America is such a violent place?
High rates of poverty and inequality.
Plus corruption by the bucket load, not just by the leaders, who on the whole turn out to be bonkers and unless.
This sort of post reminds me of when East Germany (DDR) overtook the UK's per capita GDP. Yeah, right.
Visit Cuba, look at their industrial and farming sector infrastructure and machinery, compare and contrast with the Dominican or Guatemala, then chose where you'd prefer to live. Hint, there is not much of anything in Cuba which is shiny.
I tend to agree, however the murder statistics do give pause for thought. Why is it that most of Latin America is such a violent place?
High rates of poverty and inequality.
That's not enough to explain it, especially as the only part of Africa to rival the worst of their murder rates is South Africa and the micro-states that neighbour it.
Interesting report. Although I wasn't around then, it reminds me of reports I have heard of Irish reactions to De Valera's death. A mixture of admiration and exasperation. I suppose both men were around forever. They made their respective countries what they were, to the extent no-one could remember what life was like before. Yet clearly the countries had problems that neither man addressed in their struggles against the perceived others.
This sort of post reminds me of when East Germany (DDR) overtook the UK's per capita GDP. Yeah, right.
Visit Cuba, look at their industrial and farming sector infrastructure and machinery, compare and contrast with the Dominican or Guatemala, then chose where you'd prefer to live. Hint, there is not much of anything in Cuba which is shiny.
I tend to agree, however the murder statistics do give pause for thought. Why is it that most of Latin America is such a violent place?
Feudalism.
As we have discussed some times here on PB in the past, Latin America is still a feudal society inherited by spanish colonialists.
The feudal structure results in extreme inequality, economic instability, corruption and plenty of civil wars and crime between the classes and factions.
Rio de Janeiro is a perfect example of a heavily stratified, corrupt and incompetent feudal structure, ridden with crime, but as MTimT said it's shiny.
What the Cuban revolution did was to abolish the feudal colonial structure of cuban society that had existed since Columbus, the abolition of feudalism probably mitigated the negative effects of communism.
Just finished XCOM 2. A lot to really like (gameplay is excellent and very well-balanced) but has some technical flaws that do diminish the experience.
F1: qualifying pretty much ran to form. I hope the teams are closer together next year.
Just finished XCOM 2. A lot to really like (gameplay is excellent and very well-balanced) but has some technical flaws that do diminish the experience.
F1: qualifying pretty much ran to form. I hope the teams are closer together next year.
I just started Titanfall 2, I'm not usually into shootbang games but this is really good. Such a shame it didn't get the recognition it deserves. Hopefully people will pick it up now that it's on sale. I got it for £20 yesterday from hmv and the single player is worth that alone so far.
Just finished XCOM 2. A lot to really like (gameplay is excellent and very well-balanced) but has some technical flaws that do diminish the experience.
F1: qualifying pretty much ran to form. I hope the teams are closer together next year.
I just started Titanfall 2, I'm not usually into shootbang games but this is really good. Such a shame it didn't get the recognition it deserves. Hopefully people will pick it up now that it's on sale. I got it for £20 yesterday from hmv and the single player is worth that alone so far.
Apparently all the AAA releases in the past month have tanked really badly in terms of sales numbers.
This sort of post reminds me of when East Germany (DDR) overtook the UK's per capita GDP. Yeah, right.
Visit Cuba, look at their industrial and farming sector infrastructure and machinery, compare and contrast with the Dominican or Guatemala, then chose where you'd prefer to live. Hint, there is not much of anything in Cuba which is shiny.
I tend to agree, however the murder statistics do give pause for thought. Why is it that most of Latin America is such a violent place?
High rates of poverty and inequality.
That's not enough to explain it, especially as the only part of Africa to rival the worst of their murder rates is South Africa and the micro-states that neighbour it.
Mr. Max, Titanfall's launch was a mad time to do it, between CoD and Battlefield One.
Apparently there's a sequel malaise as well. Read somewhere Dishonored 2, as well as missing a U, has undersold compared to the first game, despite reportedly being excellent.
Just finished XCOM 2. A lot to really like (gameplay is excellent and very well-balanced) but has some technical flaws that do diminish the experience.
F1: qualifying pretty much ran to form. I hope the teams are closer together next year.
I just started Titanfall 2, I'm not usually into shootbang games but this is really good. Such a shame it didn't get the recognition it deserves. Hopefully people will pick it up now that it's on sale. I got it for £20 yesterday from hmv and the single player is worth that alone so far.
Apparently all the AAA releases in the past month have tanked really badly in terms of sales numbers.
No apparently about it, I've seen the numbers. COD is down massively, Titanfall is way down and Watch Dogs is also down massively. Even with digital purchasing increasing the market for AAA is down. With TF it's a real shame because the game is really solid.
I think only FIFA and BF are up over their previous entries and PES is up but no longer in the same league as the other games.
Mr. Max, is that COD difference compared to the previous game or the previous, er, subgenre (I'm not a shootygun man myself either, but know there are different brands of COD and some, like Black Ops, tend to do better than others).
Mr. Max, is that COD difference compared to the previous game or the previous, er, subgenre (I'm not a shootygun man myself either, but know there are different brands of COD and some, like Black Ops, tend to do better than others).
The previous game, ~50% down from the last entry iirc.
Mr. Max, maybe not the most useful comparison then, but a 50% drop off is still pretty damned hefty. The publisher's CEO will only be able to plate his yacht in silver rather than gold
Mr. Max, is that COD difference compared to the previous game or the previous, er, subgenre (I'm not a shootygun man myself either, but know there are different brands of COD and some, like Black Ops, tend to do better than others).
The previous game, ~50% down from the last entry iirc.
Unlike some of the other games that have flopped, COD was always on to a loser when they revealed "we are going to do space, isn't that exciting folks"....and the COD community response was about as enthusiastic as Trump announcing a visit to a liberal arts college.
Mr. Urquhart, to tie that back to XCOM (Enemy Unknown), originally it was going to be a shooter. People wanted a TBS type game, so Firaxis went down that route (to great success), and tried releasing a sort of hybrid (think it was called Declassified) which was less successful.
Mr. Max, maybe not the most useful comparison then, but a 50% drop off is still pretty damned hefty. The publisher's CEO will only be able to plate his yacht in silver rather than gold
It's down even more against the previous entry from Infinity Ward, closer to 70%.
Mr. Max, is that COD difference compared to the previous game or the previous, er, subgenre (I'm not a shootygun man myself either, but know there are different brands of COD and some, like Black Ops, tend to do better than others).
The previous game, ~50% down from the last entry iirc.
Unlike some of the other games that have flopped, COD was always on to a loser when they revealed "we are going to do space, isn't that exciting folks"....and the COD community response was about as enthusiastic as Trump announcing a visit to a liberal arts college.
Some analysts think it would be even worse if they hadn't parceled in the COD4 remaster with the PS4 version as the only way to get it. I think the franchise is dead, or needs a couple of years off like Assassins creed.
This sort of post reminds me of when East Germany (DDR) overtook the UK's per capita GDP. Yeah, right.
Visit Cuba, look at their industrial and farming sector infrastructure and machinery, compare and contrast with the Dominican or Guatemala, then chose where you'd prefer to live. Hint, there is not much of anything in Cuba which is shiny.
I tend to agree, however the murder statistics do give pause for thought. Why is it that most of Latin America is such a violent place?
Drugs and gangs. Built on wealth disparity and the despair created by such an unequal system where there are too few ways out of the poverty trap.
Perhaps your mate is just sick of hearing your prejudice based mewlings.
Or maybe because what people see and feel in everyday life is completely contradictory to the "evidence" written by people in ivory towers?
The chances are that what people see and feel in everyday life around them is a small part of the whole story. The evidence is much more likely to represent reality as a totality (or at least it should).
ampaigned for remain, dismissed at their own peril.
Agree on this but there is next to no evidence that the effect has been negative to anyone - economically at least.
The real "harm" in my view has been the sense of cultural dislocation of very large volumes of migration. You can't quantify this, but it's a real thing. And yes, it was dismissed for too long as racism by some, to ultimately terrible effect.
ng, pushing everyone else down the list, they can also then claim working tax credit and child tax credit.
The other scam is "self employed" big issue sellers being eligible for all those benefits as well.
Yep. Don't disagree. Our welfare system is not designed to deal with high volume immigration.
But that doesn't mean immigration is causing anyone economic harm.
And we all know - or should - that immigration are molto molto more likely to be in work and paying taxes than the rest of us.
As Dylan said, pity the poor immigrant.
Oh god, another fallacy. It is tedious for me, and as Pulpstar pointed out it is tedious for everyone else.
Immigrants are not stealing our jobs, subsidised by in-work benefits or not.
What has happened is that we have preferred to import (relatively) skilled labour in favour of dealing with our own, very low-skilled population.
The result is not high unemployment, but low skilled folks being stuck in low skill and low wage jobs.
Nobody said they were stealing jobs, I said they were taking jobs and leaving us to fund locals to sit on their butts. That rules out your magic economics theory. We import shedloads, many of whom also reveive benefits and pay out full benefits to 3 million of our own, economics for dummies would show that is not beneficial. What is really tedious are smart arses who think they know it all pontificating on voodo policies and shouting racist when someone proves they are talking absolute mince.
Damned shame the next Elder Scrolls isn't coming out for ages too. I imagine Bethesda would make a killing, provided they ditched some of the failed experiments of Fallout 4.
Interesting thoughts about Cuba up thread. The year before last a group from a local Baptist church went on a support visit to a Baptist church over there. Each member took the maximum weight luggage but the barest minimum of clothes and personal items. The balance was made up of things the Cubans had asked for and which they couldn't afford or, if they could, were not available over there.
I cannot now remember the whole list but it included ladies sanitary items, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, different coloured pencils for children, exercise and colouring books. The rest was of similar low level items that we would take for granted.
The stories and pictures the group brought back back were of a people of great resilience, and happiness mixed with heart-breaking poverty and sadness. The one that stuck in my mind was the one about the guitar.
Being Baptists one of the group had naturally taken a guitar along. The local chap who drove them about in a bus could play the guitar and, it turns out, loved to play it and could do so beautifully. His own guitar had been broken beyond repair in an accident so as they were leaving the group tried to give him theirs. He flatly refused. He said that if he accepted and the "police" saw him with it they would know he could never have afforded such a thing, would conclude he had stolen it and throw him in gaol.
Was Castro a great man who improved the life of ordinary Cubans or was he a vicious tyrant who ran a nasty, repressive regime? Probably both and, probably, the world is better for him being out of it.
Say the population of the West is1 billion and that one in 10,000 people are famous. So there are 100,000 famous people alive in the West. Lets say that, on average, they live to 60, to account for those who die young. We should expect an average of about 4.5 celebrities to die each day.
Given the exponential growth in the number of celebrities we'll have dozens every day before long. The culture will be overwhelmed with gratuitous mourning for nobodies.
Celebrities in whose eyes, for me they are a bunch of useless 3rd rate toss***, bring out the tumbrils.
But even this does not paint anything like the real image. Healthcare on a par with the NHS. I am no fan of the latter, but c'mon! Really? Mr Simpson, I invite you to have major surgery in Cuba without access to your hard currency bank accounts and credit cards.
Mr. Max, maybe not the most useful comparison then, but a 50% drop off is still pretty damned hefty. The publisher's CEO will only be able to plate his yacht in silver rather than gold
Mr Morris Dancer, did you see my earlier post addressed to you?
Nobody said they were stealing jobs, I said they were taking jobs and leaving us to fund locals to sit on their butts. That rules out your magic economics theory. We import shedloads, many of whom also reveive benefits and pay out full benefits to 3 million of our own, economics for dummies would show that is not beneficial. What is really tedious are smart arses who think they know it all pontificating on voodo policies and shouting racist when someone proves they are talking absolute mince.
Welders, Mr. G, welders. The Uk is apparently short of trained welders, so short in fact that it is, or was the last time I looked, on the list for priority visas.
Now why aren't the companies that need welders training them and taking some of our unemployed young people off the streets and giving them a worthwhile job and a trade for life? Why, because they don't need to they can just import them, save themselves lots of money and dump the costs on the taxpayers.
The same goes for a lot of other skilled trades. It is a waste, a scandal and it is long overdue that a stop was put to it.
Castro and the BBC "Nothing however beats the BBC’s coverage. They are reporting Castro’s death more favourably than Thatcher’s. No ‘controversial’. No mention of the thousands summarily executed after the revolution. No mention that he demanded the USSR nuke the USA. No mention of the decades of impoverishment and human rights abuse. No mention of his secret police rounding up homosexuals and putting them in concentration camps. Castro gets a free pass on democratic norms – “his critics accused him of being a dictator”. Does the BBC think that is only an allegation? Particular congratulations to the BBC News Channel, who interviewed “Cuba expert” Richard Gott, without mentioning he was a KGB agent of influence." http://order-order.com/2016/11/26/castro-dead-nuttiest-tributes/
Nobody said they were stealing jobs, I said they were taking jobs and leaving us to fund locals to sit on their butts. That rules out your magic economics theory. We import shedloads, many of whom also reveive benefits and pay out full benefits to 3 million of our own, economics for dummies would show that is not beneficial. What is really tedious are smart arses who think they know it all pontificating on voodo policies and shouting racist when someone proves they are talking absolute mince.
Welders, Mr. G, welders. The Uk is apparently short of trained welders, so short in fact that it is, or was the last time I looked, on the list for priority visas.
Now why aren't the companies that need welders training them and taking some of our unemployed young people off the streets and giving them a worthwhile job and a trade for life? Why, because they don't need to they can just import them, save themselves lots of money and dump the costs on the taxpayers.
The same goes for a lot of other skilled trades. It is a waste, a scandal and it is long overdue that a stop was put to it.
For sure Hurst and time the apologists who cry "racist" at every turn, when they are shown to be lying through their teeth shut up as well. It can never be beneficial to bring people in whilst having millions idle on benefits. Not even an idiot could think that.
Nobody said they were stealing jobs, I said they were taking jobs and leaving us to fund locals to sit on their butts. That rules out your magic economics theory. We import shedloads, many of whom also reveive benefits and pay out full benefits to 3 million of our own, economics for dummies would show that is not beneficial. What is really tedious are smart arses who think they know it all pontificating on voodo policies and shouting racist when someone proves they are talking absolute mince.
Welders, Mr. G, welders. The Uk is apparently short of trained welders, so short in fact that it is, or was the last time I looked, on the list for priority visas.
Now why aren't the companies that need welders training them and taking some of our unemployed young people off the streets and giving them a worthwhile job and a trade for life? Why, because they don't need to they can just import them, save themselves lots of money and dump the costs on the taxpayers.
The same goes for a lot of other skilled trades. It is a waste, a scandal and it is long overdue that a stop was put to it.
Also by importing them from lower wage economies it keeps our wage rates down.
Castro and the BBC "Nothing however beats the BBC’s coverage. They are reporting Castro’s death more favourably than Thatcher’s. No ‘controversial’. No mention of the thousands summarily executed after the revolution. No mention that he demanded the USSR nuke the USA. No mention of the decades of impoverishment and human rights abuse. No mention of his secret police rounding up homosexuals and putting them in concentration camps. Castro gets a free pass on democratic norms – “his critics accused him of being a dictator”. Does the BBC think that is only an allegation? Particular congratulations to the BBC News Channel, who interviewed “Cuba expert” Richard Gott, without mentioning he was a KGB agent of influence." http://order-order.com/2016/11/26/castro-dead-nuttiest-tributes/
All I can say is I listened to the coverage on R4 this morning, including the notorious Livingstone interview (he was one of several people who were interviewed). There was certainly coverage of the executions and human rights abuses. There was also criticism of the USA's interventions in Latin America, and the absurd efforts of the CIA to assassinate him. Overall, I'd say it was balanced and even occasionally enlightening (the Canadian academic who was interviewed was especially good).
This sort of post reminds me of when East Germany (DDR) overtook the UK's per capita GDP. Yeah, right.
Visit Cuba, look at their industrial and farming sector infrastructure and machinery, compare and contrast with the Dominican or Guatemala, then chose where you'd prefer to live. Hint, there is not much of anything in Cuba which is shiny.
I tend to agree, however the murder statistics do give pause for thought. Why is it that most of Latin America is such a violent place?
High rates of poverty and inequality.
That's not enough to explain it, especially as the only part of Africa to rival the worst of their murder rates is South Africa and the micro-states that neighbour it.
WRT Cuban murder rates, Communist States are generally effective at curbing crime, as the government and its agencies establish a monopoly of violence, and can spy on the population.
Castro and the BBC "Nothing however beats the BBC’s coverage. They are reporting Castro’s death more favourably than Thatcher’s. No ‘controversial’. No mention of the thousands summarily executed after the revolution. No mention that he demanded the USSR nuke the USA. No mention of the decades of impoverishment and human rights abuse. No mention of his secret police rounding up homosexuals and putting them in concentration camps. Castro gets a free pass on democratic norms – “his critics accused him of being a dictator”. Does the BBC think that is only an allegation? Particular congratulations to the BBC News Channel, who interviewed “Cuba expert” Richard Gott, without mentioning he was a KGB agent of influence." http://order-order.com/2016/11/26/castro-dead-nuttiest-tributes/
All I can say is I listened to the coverage on R4 this morning, including the notorious Livingstone interview (he was one of several people who were interviewed). There was certainly coverage of the executions and human rights abuses. There was also criticism of the USA's interventions in Latin America, and the absurd efforts of the CIA to assassinate him. Overall, I'd say it was balanced and even occasionally enlightening (the Canadian academic who was interviewed was especially good).
Balanced, for a murderous tyrant? "If Joseph Stalin flew in today, they'd send the limousines anyway"
Castro and the BBC "Nothing however beats the BBC’s coverage. They are reporting Castro’s death more favourably than Thatcher’s. No ‘controversial’. No mention of the thousands summarily executed after the revolution. No mention that he demanded the USSR nuke the USA. No mention of the decades of impoverishment and human rights abuse. No mention of his secret police rounding up homosexuals and putting them in concentration camps. Castro gets a free pass on democratic norms – “his critics accused him of being a dictator”. Does the BBC think that is only an allegation? Particular congratulations to the BBC News Channel, who interviewed “Cuba expert” Richard Gott, without mentioning he was a KGB agent of influence." http://order-order.com/2016/11/26/castro-dead-nuttiest-tributes/
All I can say is I listened to the coverage on R4 this morning, including the notorious Livingstone interview (he was one of several people who were interviewed). There was certainly coverage of the executions and human rights abuses. There was also criticism of the USA's interventions in Latin America, and the absurd efforts of the CIA to assassinate him. Overall, I'd say it was balanced and even occasionally enlightening (the Canadian academic who was interviewed was especially good).
Balanced, for a murderous tyrant? "If Joseph Stalin flew in today, they'd send the limousines anyway"
(attrib Clash with communist swap for Adolph)
I'm defending the BBC, not Castro. It's just hysterical nonsense from Staines to say that there was no mention of the human rights abuses, the threat to nuke the USA etc., because there was!
Incidentally, I'm heading off to Rio in a couple of weeks' time. I love Brazil, but always think it's best not to look at the murder rate too closely before travelling.
WRT Cuban murder rates, Communist States are generally effective at curbing crime, as the government and its agencies establish a monopoly of violence, and can spy on the population.
They keep the crime rates down but fill their prisons and labour camps with people who have not committed what we would think to be a crime. Not sure its a good trade off.
If this site was in a communist country it would have been suppressed and most of us thrown in the gulag long before now.
Nobody said they were stealing jobs, I said they were taking jobs and leaving us to fund locals to sit on their butts. That rules out your magic economics theory. We import shedloads, many of whom also reveive benefits and pay out full benefits to 3 million of our own, economics for dummies would show that is not beneficial. What is really tedious are smart arses who think they know it all pontificating on voodo policies and shouting racist when someone proves they are talking absolute mince.
Welders, Mr. G, welders. The Uk is apparently short of trained welders, so short in fact that it is, or was the last time I looked, on the list for priority visas.
Now why aren't the companies that need welders training them and taking some of our unemployed young people off the streets and giving them a worthwhile job and a trade for life? Why, because they don't need to they can just import them, save themselves lots of money and dump the costs on the taxpayers.
The same goes for a lot of other skilled trades. It is a waste, a scandal and it is long overdue that a stop was put to it.
Also by importing them from lower wage economies it keeps our wage rates down.
Quite so, Mr. Betting, and the panty-waisters can shout about wages being squeezed when it is policies that they support that are doing the squeezing.
TM has been given a chance by the voters to set about this ongoing scandal. I sincerely hope that she takes it.
Castro and the BBC "Nothing however beats the BBC’s coverage. They are reporting Castro’s death more favourably than Thatcher’s. No ‘controversial’. No mention of the thousands summarily executed after the revolution. No mention that he demanded the USSR nuke the USA. No mention of the decades of impoverishment and human rights abuse. No mention of his secret police rounding up homosexuals and putting them in concentration camps. Castro gets a free pass on democratic norms – “his critics accused him of being a dictator”. Does the BBC think that is only an allegation? Particular congratulations to the BBC News Channel, who interviewed “Cuba expert” Richard Gott, without mentioning he was a KGB agent of influence." http://order-order.com/2016/11/26/castro-dead-nuttiest-tributes/
All I can say is I listened to the coverage on R4 this morning, including the notorious Livingstone interview (he was one of several people who were interviewed). There was certainly coverage of the executions and human rights abuses. There was also criticism of the USA's interventions in Latin America, and the absurd efforts of the CIA to assassinate him. Overall, I'd say it was balanced and even occasionally enlightening (the Canadian academic who was interviewed was especially good).
Balanced, for a murderous tyrant? "If Joseph Stalin flew in today, they'd send the limousines anyway"
(attrib Clash with communist swap for Adolph)
I'm defending the BBC, not Castro. It's just hysterical nonsense from Staines to say that there was no mention of the human rights abuses, the threat to nuke the USA etc., because there was!
The BBC presented Thatcher in a worse light than Castro, whereas Castro should be widely condemned for his litany of abuses. One example homosexuality. During Thatcher we had a banning of teaching homosexuality at one point. Under Castro his secret police rounded up homosexuals and put them in concentration camps.
Castro and the BBC "Nothing however beats the BBC’s coverage. They are reporting Castro’s death more favourably than Thatcher’s. No ‘controversial’. No mention of the thousands summarily executed after the revolution. No mention that he demanded the USSR nuke the USA. No mention of the decades of impoverishment and human rights abuse. No mention of his secret police rounding up homosexuals and putting them in concentration camps. Castro gets a free pass on democratic norms – “his critics accused him of being a dictator”. Does the BBC think that is only an allegation? Particular congratulations to the BBC News Channel, who interviewed “Cuba expert” Richard Gott, without mentioning he was a KGB agent of influence." http://order-order.com/2016/11/26/castro-dead-nuttiest-tributes/
All I can say is I listened to the coverage on R4 this morning, including the notorious Livingstone interview (he was one of several people who were interviewed). There was certainly coverage of the executions and human rights abuses. There was also criticism of the USA's interventions in Latin America, and the absurd efforts of the CIA to assassinate him. Overall, I'd say it was balanced and even occasionally enlightening (the Canadian academic who was interviewed was especially good).
Balanced, for a murderous tyrant? "If Joseph Stalin flew in today, they'd send the limousines anyway"
(attrib Clash with communist swap for Adolph)
I'm defending the BBC, not Castro. It's just hysterical nonsense from Staines to say that there was no mention of the human rights abuses, the threat to nuke the USA etc., because there was!
The BBC presented Thatcher in a worse light than Castro, whereas Castro should be widely condemned for his litany of abuses. One example homosexuality. During Thatcher we had a banning of teaching homosexuality at one point. Under Castro his secret police rounded up homosexuals and put them in concentration camps.
Can't really remember their coverage of Thatcher's death, but I don't think it included reference to her imprisoning and executing political opponents, and threatening to start a nuclear war. But I could be wrong?
Mr. Betting, so the common factor in the most murderous countries is... you!
I once did get hardship pay in a Caribbean island. Also met some "Colonels" in two Latin American countries.
Hard liers, in the Caribbean? Goodness gracious! My I ask which islands, Mr. Betting? I worked a fair bit out there and some of the per diems from the Red Book seemed a little high for the prices I was paying (the office joke was that the Kingston, Jamaica daily rate included a being mugged allowance). But actual hardship pay, no.
Most London based staff thought it was like the old Bounty adverts rather than the filthy, disease ridden dump populated, and certainly governed, by the most dreadfully corrupt people. That people actually go there on holiday astonishes me, I would sooner take Budleigh Salterton in the rain, or even Norfolk.
Mr. Betting, so the common factor in the most murderous countries is... you!
I once did get hardship pay in a Caribbean island. Also met some "Colonels" in two Latin American countries.
Hard liers, in the Caribbean? Goodness gracious! My I ask which islands, Mr. Betting? I worked a fair bit out there and some of the per diems from the Red Book seemed a little high for the prices I was paying (the office joke was that the Kingston, Jamaica daily rate included a being mugged allowance). But actual hardship pay, no.
Most London based staff thought it was like the old Bounty adverts rather than the filthy, disease ridden dump populated, and certainly governed, by the most dreadfully corrupt people. That people actually go there on holiday astonishes me, I would sooner take Budleigh Salterton in the rain, or even Norfolk.
Cuba is magical. It's a wonderful place to be a tourist. But it's impossible to deny the poverty and repression.
Comments
That article is a bit old.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/14/future-of-coppelia-cuba-socialist-ice-cream-cathedral
Probably why Jezza is such a fan of these places
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate
As we have discussed some times here on PB in the past, Latin America is still a feudal society inherited by spanish colonialists.
The feudal structure results in extreme inequality, economic instability, corruption and plenty of civil wars and crime between the classes and factions.
Rio de Janeiro is a perfect example of a heavily stratified, corrupt and incompetent feudal structure, ridden with crime, but as MTimT said it's shiny.
What the Cuban revolution did was to abolish the feudal colonial structure of cuban society that had existed since Columbus, the abolition of feudalism probably mitigated the negative effects of communism.
Just finished XCOM 2. A lot to really like (gameplay is excellent and very well-balanced) but has some technical flaws that do diminish the experience.
F1: qualifying pretty much ran to form. I hope the teams are closer together next year.
Apparently there's a sequel malaise as well. Read somewhere Dishonored 2, as well as missing a U, has undersold compared to the first game, despite reportedly being excellent.
I think only FIFA and BF are up over their previous entries and PES is up but no longer in the same league as the other games.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-38118739
There does seem to be a glut.
Damned shame the next Elder Scrolls isn't coming out for ages too. I imagine Bethesda would make a killing, provided they ditched some of the failed experiments of Fallout 4.
I cannot now remember the whole list but it included ladies sanitary items, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, different coloured pencils for children, exercise and colouring books. The rest was of similar low level items that we would take for granted.
The stories and pictures the group brought back back were of a people of great resilience, and happiness mixed with heart-breaking poverty and sadness. The one that stuck in my mind was the one about the guitar.
Being Baptists one of the group had naturally taken a guitar along. The local chap who drove them about in a bus could play the guitar and, it turns out, loved to play it and could do so beautifully. His own guitar had been broken beyond repair in an accident so as they were leaving the group tried to give him theirs. He flatly refused. He said that if he accepted and the "police" saw him with it they would know he could never have afforded such a thing, would conclude he had stolen it and throw him in gaol.
Was Castro a great man who improved the life of ordinary Cubans or was he a vicious tyrant who ran a nasty, repressive regime? Probably both and, probably, the world is better for him being out of it.
But even this does not paint anything like the real image. Healthcare on a par with the NHS. I am no fan of the latter, but c'mon! Really? Mr Simpson, I invite you to have major surgery in Cuba without access to your hard currency bank accounts and credit cards.
Hilary has tweeted a piccy...
https://mobile.twitter.com/hilarybennmp
Mr Morris Dancer, did you see my earlier post addressed to you?
Went searching and just saw it. I can confirm I am not Nick Holland, but I am unsurprised my excellent repartee has inspired others to mimic it.
Now why aren't the companies that need welders training them and taking some of our unemployed young people off the streets and giving them a worthwhile job and a trade for life? Why, because they don't need to they can just import them, save themselves lots of money and dump the costs on the taxpayers.
The same goes for a lot of other skilled trades. It is a waste, a scandal and it is long overdue that a stop was put to it.
"Nothing however beats the BBC’s coverage. They are reporting Castro’s death more favourably than Thatcher’s. No ‘controversial’. No mention of the thousands summarily executed after the revolution. No mention that he demanded the USSR nuke the USA. No mention of the decades of impoverishment and human rights abuse. No mention of his secret police rounding up homosexuals and putting them in concentration camps. Castro gets a free pass on democratic norms – “his critics accused him of being a dictator”. Does the BBC think that is only an allegation? Particular congratulations to the BBC News Channel, who interviewed “Cuba expert” Richard Gott, without mentioning he was a KGB agent of influence."
http://order-order.com/2016/11/26/castro-dead-nuttiest-tributes/
Although if they win it and go down I imagine most Leicester fans won't care!
Not even an idiot could think that.
Yet tonight I worry about an adult child visiting Thailand.
"If Joseph Stalin flew in today, they'd send the limousines anyway"
(attrib Clash with communist swap for Adolph)
Daniel Hannan✔ @DanielJHannan
What could a Eurocrat possibility see in an autocratic regime that disdains ordinary voters? https://twitter.com/JunckerEU/status/802490752118861824 …
If this site was in a communist country it would have been suppressed and most of us thrown in the gulag long before now. Quite so, Mr. Betting, and the panty-waisters can shout about wages being squeezed when it is policies that they support that are doing the squeezing.
TM has been given a chance by the voters to set about this ongoing scandal. I sincerely hope that she takes it.
During Thatcher we had a banning of teaching homosexuality at one point.
Under Castro his secret police rounded up homosexuals and put them in concentration camps.
Most London based staff thought it was like the old Bounty adverts rather than the filthy, disease ridden dump populated, and certainly governed, by the most dreadfully corrupt people. That people actually go there on holiday astonishes me, I would sooner take Budleigh Salterton in the rain, or even Norfolk.