We do indeed because 1) they are so close and 2) we have so many exiles here with horrific stories (and many with photos to prove them). However, no one asked me to point out what improvements have occurred in Cuba in recent history so I will not. I did state though that all of the good will not erase the bad. Just as what good Bush has done can never erase the bad he has done as well. I am alittle personal about it as well because I have many Cuban friends and the most critical of course are those in their senior years now who lived through the worst.



>I'm going to take a look at those refrences (thanks Tracy). But Cuba gets a different press here. Many people here would happily go there on holiday. Its regarded as quite trendy actually. The impression I often get is that teh US has a sort of allergic reaction to Cuba.
>
>
>>You're kidding, right? The list is too long to post. Here is a short one:
>>
>>-Documented reports exist of Cuban troops in cahoots with the Ethiopian government denying food to starving Ethiopians because of their political ideology
>>
>>-Cuba has refused to ratify any major international law enshrining fundamental human rights. It has refused to sign the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
>>
>>-Castro formed Committees for the Defense of the Revolution(CDR) which operate on almost every block in Cuba. Spying on neighbors and reporting back to the regime. Negative reports can land one in jail. Talking to foreigners invites questioning into your loyalty to the regime. Large numbers of individuals are incarcerated in Castro's prisons for political crimes ranging from speaking against the regime to trying to leave the island.
>>
>>-Rapid Response Brigades. Their principle aim is to "defend the country, the Revolution and Socialism in all circumstances, by confronting and liquidating any sign of counter-revolution or crime." Trying to leave Cuba without government sanction is a criminal offense punishable by prison.
>>
>>-Castro regime's response to the AIDS crisis has been mandatory nation-wide testing with forced incarceration for anyone who tested positive for the HIV virus. In addition, Castro has had a long tradition of imprisoning homosexuals and transexuals as "undesirables."
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>>-Thousands of Cubans (and an American William Morgan) have died in front of Castro's infamous firing squad
>>
>>-Cuba frequently denies its citizens internationally recognized due process
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>>-Cuban laws prohibit nonviolent dissent
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>>-Cuba employs repressive measures to prevent dissent including short-term arbitrary detentions, official warnings (advertencias oficiales), removal from jobs and housing, surveillance, harassment, intimidation, and forced exile
>>
>>-Cuba has said it will not co-operate in any form with a resolution passed against it by the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva.
>>
>>Intersting sites on cuba and human rights:
>>http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/cuba/
>>http://therealcuba.com/page5.htm
>>http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=18587
>>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4446933.stm
>>
>>
>>Now, Castro has done some good things for his country, but that wasn't the question.
>>
>>
>>>What are the evil things Castro has done Tracy ?