OSNews

Let me put it this way.

When a man is dying of incurable cancer, would you organise a party with balloons and pinatas when the doctor tells you he cured that man's ingrown toenail?

Cuba is a totalitarian dictatorship. I find it kind of sad that people apparently find it okay that the Cuban government cares more about possible backdoors in software than it does about the well-being of its own people.

Of course! If the guy is dying, you should be doing anything you can to make him feel better in the time remaining. To write him off simply because he won't be around sooner rather than later is the height of cruelty.

Sure beats "Yeah, he cured your ingrown toenail but that's no reason to be happy. You're gonna die soon anyway".



Who says anything about it being ok that they care more about one than the other? This posts was about sovereignty, not about what Cuba cares more about.

This is OSNews, we talk about OS.
You have your political view and many people don't agree with you. No need to start another cold war or propaganda war on OSNews. You probably never went to Cuba anyway.

Edited 2009-02-12 10:53 UTC

A dictatorship yes, totalitarian, I'm not so sure about that.
After the "Special Period", for instance, collectivism was to a certain extent sacrificed for more private ownership (with the concept of usufruct); basically the government was forced to do that because of the food/agricultural/oil crisis.

I'm sure it's politically incorrect in many circles, but whatever the flaws and evils of the Cuban government, contrast for example the level of education to that of many other autocratic third world nations. And contrast the way the Cubans coped with their major energy crisis, to what's going on and what will be going on in North America when the dollar collapses.
And perhaps some people here watched Michael Moore's Sicko. ;-)
Not to justify anything of course, but tell me Thom where the democracy in say the Netherlands is? Or perhaps you'd agree we have a "totalitarian bureaucracy" here? :-)

Let me put it this way.

When a man is dying of incurable cancer, would you organise a party with balloons and pinatas when the doctor tells you he cured that man's ingrown toenail?

Cuba is a totalitarian dictatorship. I find it kind of sad that people apparently find it okay that the Cuban government cares more about possible backdoors in software than it does about the well-being of its own people.

Last year Fidel Castro stepped down from the throne and let his son take over. Last year also saw the right for regular citizens to obtain and use personal computers. That's a start in my opinion. Government support for an OS which whomever citizen can modify to his or her liking is also a step towards some freedom.

Don't be so anti-Cuba. No one likes dictatorship except the dictators themselves, but every single step towards freedom in any of its forms for the citizens and their data is a step in the right direction.

Well, if Cuba was an evil government, I'd want them focused on the most trivial things that are not directly related to the suppression of their people.

Second, Cuba does have one of the best medical systems in the world.

The truth isn't one way or the other. They aren't completely evil nor completely good. No one is. There is no valid reason why they are treated differently than China is.

Cuba as free healthcare , go find the other country , who don't , first , when talking about well-being of its own people.

Edited 2009-02-12 21:01 UTC