Obama, Cuba, and Us

[BitterPill]

The message is clear, Obama thinks revolution is a worthy end in itself, if it leads to Socialism. It doesn’t matter the many torture, killed and slaved Cuban people by the Castroit communist regime.

I'm afraid you have failed to comprehend Obama's message.

 

[Sandokan]

I'm afraid you have failed to comprehend Obama's message.

“President Obama’s visit has legitimized Castro’s illegitimate rule, and will help him perpetuate his family’s future grip on power.”

There are enough of the Castro’ clan waiting in the wings ready to keep running the island for many more years, each as bad as their elders.

 

[BitterPill]

“President Obama’s visit has legitimized Castro’s illegitimate rule, and will help him perpetuate his family’s future grip on power.”

There are enough of the Castro’ clan waiting in the wings ready to keep running the island for many more years, each as bad as their elders.

Long ago we sought dialog and trade with the Soviets, and things turned out well enough for us. What are you so worried about Cuba?

 

[coldjoint]

Long ago we sought dialog and trade with the Soviets, and things turned out well enough for us. What are you so worried about Cuba?

Yeah, until Hillary and Obama reset it. Ask a Ukrainian.

 

[Sandokan]

Obama fostered myths about Cuba's health and education systems
The Latest on AXS

Hans Bader
March 30, 2016

President Obama with the communist dictator of Cuba
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In Cuba last week, President Obama gave glowing praise to institutions in that communist country that did not deserve it. Obama naively called Cuba’s "system of education" an "extraordinary resource" that "values every boy and every girl."

But there’s nothing "extraordinary" about Cuba's flawed educational system. Children are taught by poorly-paid teachers in dilapidated schools. Cuba has made less educational progress than most Latin American countries over the last 60 years. According to UNESCO, Cuba had about the same literacy rate as Costa Rica and Chile in 1950 (close to 80%). And it has almost the same literacy rate as they do today (close to 100%). Meanwhile, Latin American countries that were largely illiterate in 1950 — like Peru, Brazil, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic — are largely literate today, closing much of the gap with Cuba. El Salvador had a less than 40% literacy rate in 1950, but has an 88% literacy rate today. Brazil and Peru had a less than 50% literacy rate in 1950, but today, Peru has a 94.5% literacy rate, and Brazil a 92.6% literacy rate. The Dominican Republic’s rate rose from a little over 40% to 91.8%. While Cuba made substantial progress in reducing illiteracy in Castro’s first years in power, its educational system has stagnated since, even as much of Latin America improved. Educational attainment is particularly lackluster among Afro-Cubans, judging from a recent New York Times story.

Worse, Obama promoted the myth that Cuban health care is excellent, saying that the “United States recognizes progress that Cuba has made as a nation, its enormous achievements in education and in health care.”

From 1899 to 1958 the illiteracy rate dropped from 72% (Census of 1899) to 18% (Cuba's Ministry of Education archives) for persons older than 10 years of age, a remarkable achievement. Cubans were not just literate but also educated.

 

[Sandokan]

Cuba has had one of the most literate populations in Latin America since well before the Castro revolution. Cuba national illiteracy rate was 18% in 1958, ranking third in Latin America. Cuba was the Latin American country with the highest budget for education in 1958, with 23% of the total budget earmarked for this expense. This data is found in the archives of Cuba's Ministry of Education.

The female percentage, in relation to the total student population, was the highest in the Western Hemisphere including the US. According to the United Nations Statistics Division yearbook of 1959, shows Cuba having 3.8 university students per 1,000 inhabitants, well above the Latin America median of 2.6.

 

[Sandokan]

There is a pattern from the Castroit regime to inflate the percentage of illiterates prior to 1959, by using the illiteracy rate of the 1953 census of 23.6%. Fidel Castro on December 17, 1960, in the CMQ-TV program "Meet the Press" affirmed that “The illiteracy rate in our country is 37.5%.” In the Central Report to the First Congress of the Party in 1975, Fidel said that “on the date of the Moncada (1953), 23.6% of the population over 10 years was illiterate.” In spite of what Fidel said, the document "V Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba in October 1997, referring to the period before 1959 says “a country with more than 40 per cent of illiterates.” Dirty bastard liars.

 

[Medusa]

There is a pattern from the Castroit regime to inflate the percentage of illiterates prior to 1959, by using the illiteracy rate of the 1953 census of 23.6%. Fidel Castro on December 17, 1960, in the CMQ-TV program "Meet the Press" affirmed that “The illiteracy rate in our country is 37.5%.” In the Central Report to the First Congress of the Party in 1975, Fidel said that “on the date of the Moncada (1953), 23.6% of the population over 10 years was illiterate.” In spite of what Fidel said, the document "V Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba in October 1997, referring to the period before 1959 says “a country with more than 40 per cent of illiterates.” Dirty bastard liars.

Ok let me tell this is the most boring thread in DP,drink some Cuban rum :mrgreen:

 

[Sandokan]

The Castroit regime eventually acknowledge the real number, which indicated that in 1961 from a total of 929,207 identified as illiterates, 707,212 were taught to read and write; 221,995 did not acquire these skills. In 1961 the population over 10 years was 5.15 million, and the number of illiterates 929,207. The actual illiteracy rate based on the regime figures was 18 %, the same percentage than in 1958. It is obvious the cooking of the figures by the regime.

 

[Sandokan]

On a speech December 22, 1961, Fidel Castro declared Cuba a “territory free of illiteracy.” But the Cuba census of 1970 shows an illiteracy rate of 10.7% for age 15 and over. So much for the eradication of the illiteracy.

 

[Sandokan]

UN statistics below reveals that the whole hemisphere has made enormous strides in literacy over the past 40 years without the need “to wage a battle against illiteracy.”

TABLE 2 LATIN AMERICAN LITERACY RATES (PERCENT)
LATEST AVAILABLE DATA FOR
...............1950-53......2000
Argentina.....87.............97
Cuba...........76.............96
Chile...........81.............96
Costa Rica....79.............96
Paraguay......68.............93
Colombia......62.............92
Panama........72.............92
Ecuador........56.............92
Brazil...........49.............85
Dominican
Republic........43............84
El Salvador....42............79
Guatemala.....30.............69
Haiti.............11.............49

SOURCE: UN STATISTICAL YEARBOOK 1957, pp. 600-602; UN STATISTICAL YEARBOOK 2000, pp. 76-82.
a. DATA FOR 1950-53 ARE AGE 10 AND OVER. DATA FOR 1995 ARE AGE 15 AND OVER, REFLECTING
A CHANGE IN COMMON USAGE OVER THIS PERIOD.
b. DATA FOR ARGENTINA 1950-53 IS CURRENT AS 1947 DATA, THE LATEST AVAILABLE, AND REFLECTS
AGES 14 AND OVER.
c. DATA FOR 2000 ARE AGE 15 AND OVER.

 

[Sandokan]

“According to the 1953 Cuba census, out of 4,376,529 inhabitants 10 years of age or older 23.6% were illiterate, a percentage lower than all other Latin American countries except Argentina (13.6%), Chile (19.6%), and Costa Rica (20.6%). Factoring only the population 15 years of age or older, the rate is lowered to 22.1%.” Reference: Alvarez Díaz, José R. “A Study on Cuba.” Cuban Economic Research Project. Coral Gables: University of Miami Press, 1965. pg. 426-427.

Year---Pop. Million-----Over 10 yr.---------Illiteracy rate----Over 15 yr.------Factored illiteracy rate

1953-----5.83----------4.38------------------23.6------------3.72------------------22.1
1958-----6.63----------4.92------------------18.0------------4.16------------------16.4
1961-----6.9-----------5.15------------------18.0------------4.36------------------16.4
1970-----8.6-----------6.32----------------------------------5.37------------------10.7 (1)

(1) Source: UNESCO Institute of Statistics. Estimated illiteracy and illiterate population aged 15 years and older, July 2002. JUCEPLAN, Censo de Población y Viviendas 1970.

 

[Sandokan]

UN statistics show that Cuba’s health, education and standard of living levels grew under a democratic-capitalist system during the period 1902–58.

In 1957 Cuba ranked in 13th place worldwide in infant mortality rate; 32nd in life expectancy at birth; 25th in maternal mortality ratio; 26th in physician density per population; 16th in dentists; 14th in midwives; 26 in pharmacists. In the Americas ranked 6th in nurses, and 3rd in hospital beds.

In 2007, under the Castroit regime, Cuba ranked in 34th place worldwide in infant mortality rate; 43rd in live expectancy at birth; ; 68th in maternal mortality ratio; 1st in physician density per population ; xth in dentists; xth in midwives; x in pharmacists. In the Americas ranked xth in nurses, and xrd in hospital beds.
Link: http://www.ascecuba.org/c/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/v22-stusser.pdf

 

[Sandokan]

It is a well-known fact that totalitarian regimes inflate statistics. Cuba's infant mortality rate is kept low by the regime’s tampering with statistics, by a low birth rate of 12.5 births per 1000 population, and by a staggering abortion rate of 77.7 abortions per 1,000 women (0.78 abortions per each live birth. Data based on official statistics from the Castroit regime). Cuba had the lowest birth rate and doubles the abortion rate in Latin America. Cuba's abortion rate was the 3rd highest out of the 60 countries studied. Link: The Incident of Abortion Worldwide (https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2013/11/incidence-abortion-worldwide)

 

[Sandokan]

Another health parameter linked to infant mortality, is the maternal mortality rate. Cuba’s maternal mortality rate is 33 deaths per 1,000 live births. This health statistic is high despite the fact that Cuba has the lowest birth rate in Latin America. The doctors are supposed to suggest abortion in risky pregnancies and, in some occasions, must perform the interruption without the consent of the couple. Cuban pediatricians constantly falsify figures for the regime. If an infant dies during his first year, the doctors often report he/she was older (infant mortality rate is define by the number of deaths during the first year of life per thousand live births). Otherwise, such lapses could cost him severe penalties and his job. As a matter of fact, the Castroit regime has taken total control of the Cuban people from their cradle to their grave. Link: Demystifying the Cuban Health System: An Insider’s View, Rodolfo J. Stusser, (http://www.ascecuba.org/c/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/v21-stusser.pdf).

 

[Sandokan]

In all nations with high emigration rates longevity rates skew high. This occurs because the birth is recorded but the death gets recorded in the nation migrated to. So it seems like fewer people die. A nation with high longevity but with high emigration has little to boast about with regards to longevity figures. During the last 57 years, 2.7 million Cubans have emigrated/born abroad. The actual island population is 11.2 million. The 2.7 million represent 24% of the population in the island and 19.5% of the total population, a high emigration rate. This is one of the reasons of the high life expectancy.

 

[Sandokan]

Under the Castroit regime Cubans have experienced the deterioration of practically all health indicators, from sanitation to housing. The increase in infectious diseases in the island like dengue, cholera, leptospirosis (rat fever) and other viruses, does not correlate with the life-expectancy statistics of the regime.

Life expectancy at birth in Cuba:

1931: 43.8 years, among the best in the world. See Chart. http://migratio.cesga.es/article.php3?id_article=41
1957: 64.2 years, 32th in the world. See Table 1.http://www.ascecuba.org/c/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/v22-stusser.pdf
2014: 78.22 years, 59th in the world. (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html)

In Latin America these countries rank above Cuba: Puerto Rico 48th; Chile 52nd; Panama 56th, and Costa Rica 58th.

The life expectancy ranking of Cuba under Castroism had slip backwards. Seems that the so call “experts” missed those statistics.

 

[Sandokan]

There are a total of 70,000 Cuban doctors. According to MINSAP 30,000 Cuban doctor’s work overseas and another 13,000 have left Cuba. The actual numbers of doctors in Cuba reach 27,000. Of those 10% quit their profession to work in more lucrative jobs, leaving only 24,300 working in their profession. The regime has acknowledged that there is a shortage of doctors and nurses in Cuba. On December 2007 the vice minister of public health, Joaquín García Salaberría, took the highly unusual step of admitting on Cuban television that there were shortages of doctors and nurses. The real per capita of doctors in Cuba is one doctor per 469 people. This would rank Cuba in 57th place in physician density per population.

 

[Sandokan]

The Castroit regime has for many years been treating the health care personnel as “exportable commodities.” It is a modern day version of trafficking in human beings, a multibillion dollars form of international crime, a violation of human rights. In 2013 the regime earned $10.4 billion exporting professional services, especially in the health sector, to other countries, the same amount brought by total exports, tourism and remittances all together in 2013 (Service exports minus tourism, Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas de Cuba).

Financially, "doctor diplomacy" is an outstanding source of income for the Castroit regime economy since MINSAP pays doctors and other personnel only a small fraction of the millions of dollars that are received by the regime.

 

[Sandokan]

Top Cuban dissident disappointed by Obama’s visit: ‘We’re hoping for more'
Top Cuban dissident disappointed by Obama's visit: 'We're hoping for more' | Fox News Latino

Published April 11, 2016 / EFE

Cuban dissident leader Berta Soler: "We´re hoping for more from Obama"Cuban activists Berta Soler (L) and Leticia Ramos from 'Damas de Blanco' denounce the repression that Cuban activists suffer before the Inter American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington, DC, United States,. EFE/file

Havana – The leader of the Ladies in White, Berta Soler, hoped for more from U.S. President Barack Obama during and after his recent visit to Cuba and now is asking him to set conditions on the island's government by making an "energetic" statement demanding the cessation of police violence and establishing a general amnesty for political prisoners.
Click link above for full article.

Obama’s visit was all talk and no action. Berta Soler, leader of Damas de Blanco, and many other dissidents, see Obama visit as a legitimization of the Castroit regime and a sing of weakness.

 

[Sandokan]

This is one more example of the weakening of U.S. foreign policy and reduction of its image by the Obama administration. Obama does not care for Cuban dissidents, he cares about his legacy.

 

[Sandokan]

Obama vs. the dissidents
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...2bc7be-2e6a-11e6-b5db-e9bc84a2c8e4_story.html

Cuban President Raúl Castro, right, lifts the arm of President Obama at the conclusion of their joint news conference at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana on March 21. (Ramon Espinosa/Associated Press)

By Jackson Diehl Deputy Editorial Page Editor June 12, 2016

There are two ways dictatorships can end, says Óscar Elías Biscet. “One is a revolution of the superstructure, where the top changes itself. The other is a change from the bottom up,” like those that introduced democracy to Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and, most recently, Tunisia. Cuba’s leading dissidents are sure about their choice. “We want to build a a civic, nonviolent movement that will overturn this regime and bring democracy to Cuba,” says Biscet.

President Obama has bet on the other side. He has spent the past several years cultivating the regime of Raúl Castro, on the theory that normal diplomatic relations and increased commerce will lead, eventually, to greater freedom for Cubans. In announcing the opening, he went so far as to say that neither Cubans nor Americans should wish for the “collapse” of the Castro regime.
Click link above for full article.

Obama administration policy abandoned the Cuban dissidents. His policies has worsened the condition of the dissidents, and the same time his normalization of relations with the regime gave it an aura of legitimacy.

 

[EMNofSeattle]

Obama administration policy abandoned the Cuban dissidents. His policies has worsened the condition of the dissidents, and the same time his normalization of relations with the regime gave it an aura of legitimacy.

Well like it or not after fifty years in power I don't see how that government is anything other than legitimate

 

[katzgar]

This is one more example of the weakening of U.S. foreign policy and reduction of its image by the Obama administration. Obama does not care for Cuban dissidents, he cares about his legacy.

are you right wingers isolationist or not? must be just more need to trash the black guy.

 

[Sandokan]

Well like it or not after fifty years in power I don't see how that government is anything other than legitimate

The legitimacy of a government is granted by the consent of the majority of the people. British philosopher John Locke said that “no government is legitimate unless it is carried out with the consent of the governed, and that consent can only be rendered through majority rule.”