Doesn't Fidel watch CNN?...Didn't he see what happened to Iraq?

[JohnnyRingo]

During the Xmas week this story slipped past me, but I bet Dick Cheney heard:

Castro Announces Crude Oil Discovery

By Associated Press

December 25, 2004, 7:09 PM EST

HAVANA -- President Fidel Castro said a crude oil deposit has been discovered off Cuba containing up to 100 million barrels, good news for a country that imports about half the petroleum it needs.
<snip>
Cuba currently produces 75,000 barrels daily, about half of what it needs. It imports most of the rest, much of it on favorable terms from political ally Venezuela.

<more>
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-cuba-oil,0,1498670,print.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[ShaneGR]

1. Bush and Castro one in the same.....

Political thugs.

[neweurope]

2. But at least in Cuba even the poor get a good education and medical aid

;)



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Remember Fallujah!

[Wabbajack]

3. and just like here

the people don't get to cast a vote that counts.

[ngant17]

6. Democracy in Cuba

All votes in Cuba are hand-counted. There are all on paper ballots so there's not a problem with missing or uncounted votes. Legal voting age is 16 in Cuba. There is no corporate sponsorship or lobbyists involved in the elections in Cuba. Anyone who wants to run for office has to do it on his/her own free time. There are no perks and no handouts that come with the office. If anything, it is like working a double-shift every day because you can't leave out your other obligations in the workplace and the family in Cuba. You don't get any extra money in Cuba if you are elected. You have less free-time and more work.

The democratic process has been examined and studied extensively, especially by Arnold August in his Oct. 2001 video lecture, "Democracy in Cuba". Recorded at the Gainseville, Florida Civic Media Center. I recorded the audio on cassette if you want it, the video is not necessary as he is mostly lecturing from a podium anyway, if you want to listen to a point-of-view that isn't based on the usual corporate lies and propaganda, I can send this out if you can pay the nominal postage for the cassette.

As for the oil in Cuba, Bush has had to deal with another leftist in the Caribbean Basin with a lot of oil: Chavez in Venezuela. He hasn't fared to well with him so far. The attempted coups didn't go off as well as Bush had first planned.

It is unfortunate that so many people will repeat the disinformation about Cuba. Yes, Fidel Castro would win any election without much opposition, it has everything to do with the popularity factor and nothing to do with the type of electoral fraud that is more common in the adjacent banana republics and, yes, even here in the USA.

[Wabbajack]

8. Uh huh

and all parties except for Castro's are banned and he has absolute power. He has no opposition because dissidents are jailed and he has even more control of Cuban media than Bush does over ours.

[Minstrel Boy]

7. Bush sends killers, Castro sends doctors.

For starters.

There is no moral equivalency between them.

[Pepperbelly]

4. From what I've read ...

Castro wants to exploit it the same way we do, i.e. oil rigs. I think that they have always suspected that there is oil there.

[ClintonTyree]

5. Maybe it's time for..................

freedom to be on the march in Cuba. Oil, not a lot by Mid-East standards, but still oil , and not that far away. And as we all know, all of the oil in the world belongs to BushCo.
I expect to see some agressive moves made by BushCo. to secure this oil in the near future. We can't let any damn Commies have and keep their own natural resources, can we?

[Jacobin]

9. That's a tiny drop in the bucket

One relatively small field surrounding a salt dome in the U.S. can produce that much. Also, it takes decades to produce, because if you try to produce it too quickly, you get much less.

I don't think Smirky will be invading Cuba for their drops of oil. He'll find another excuse.