yes, it's called princess margaret hospital, and many of my friends who have given birth there have had to bring their own bedding with them.

****

disclaimer: i'm from the out islands, so have a much different political perspective most of the time than my big city nassau counterparts, given that we in the boondocks are more often than not left to our own devices.

i'm not certain why y'all continue to call fred mitchell's name as though he's the first bahamian politician to make nice with cuba since the onset of the castro regime. even sir stafford and team was part of the group making certain that our relationship with the biggest country in the caribbean stayed intact, from a business and tourism and education and medical standpoint. and the first time that i ever went to havana was with a business development council out of nassau central government in 1999.


... sounds like the good SENATOR is getting festie, but let me just let her know... did is not Cuba and since we are living in a free country... we could call any politician name that we want to, espically when they are a threath to our way of life.

... sounds like the good SENATOR is getting festie, but let me just let her know... did is not Cuba and since we are living in a free country... we could call any politician name that we want to, espically when they are a threath to our way of life.


the only real threat to the bahamian way of life is ... bahamian apathy. if bahamians were to in fact vote with their pocketbook, support bahamian businesses and schools and community centres and hospitals and banks, we'd be pretty impervious to any and all of the cuban vs. usa infighting. if bahamians were to invest in property instead of buying gold jewelry or leasing cars they can't afford, they'd be much more independent of the vagaries of our neighbour to the north and west.

the american tensions with cuba certainly hasn't impacted canada or europe any :).

yawn.

the only real threat to the bahamian way of life is ... bahamian apathy. if bahamians were to in fact vote with their pocketbook, support bahamian businesses and schools and community centres and hospitals and banks, we'd be pretty impervious to any and all of the cuban vs. usa infighting. if bahamians were to invest in property instead of buying gold jewelry or leasing cars they can't afford, they'd be much more independent of the vagaries of our neighbour to the north and west.
the american tensions with cuba certainly hasn't impacted canada or europe any :).
yawn.

so you been to Cuba? The Real Cuba? (http://www.therealcuba.com/)
http://www.therealcuba.com/boy%20looking%20for%20food%20among%20garbage.jpg
Children searching for food in Havana's garbage dumps

cuba can mobilize one hundred thousand citizens for evacuation in natural and man-made disasters...there is a lesson we can learn from cuba...
they also invited us to assess a home construction project for low-income housing...we took them up on the offer by the way...
and i think cuba can teach us a lesson about agriculture and self-sufficiency...
by the way have you read 'Assassination of an Economic Hitman'...its a good read...
we all agree that any relationship with cuba tarnishes a country's relationship with the usa...
but hey any relationship with the us tarnishes a country's relationship with radical islam...
and they don't care about international relations either...they just does blow ya up.....
we are one the highest tourist destinations in the region...apply your logic to this scenario...aren't we putting ourselves at risk by consorting with americans?

We would be able to mobilize a 100,000 people too if they had no choice and this was a dictatorship, Big deal, most free societies do just fine in natural disasters without a dictatorship making them do it.

Your point about upsetting terrorist by our relationship with the US is spot on but remember most of the tourist comes from the US so I don't no how you could resolve that.

Also when bad things happen anywhere including Cuba and the places where radical Islam makes its bed, the US is usually the country that opens its pocket book and resources to help.

Remember a few years back when the earthquake hit in Iran!!

the only real threat to the bahamian way of life is ... bahamian apathy.

Senator, the PLP under the advise of FRED MITCHEL is now causing us problems that Bahamians do not like, Apathy or not.. we do not like it...

Your Blame Bahamian attitue will on inflame our anger more....

so you been to Cuba? Children searching for food in Havana's garbage dumps[/COLOR][/B]


yes, i have, and to mostly non-tourist parts of the country where we've worked on various community projects. and you're absolutely right, it's not always pretty. but then again, i could take you to parts of cat island, parts of los angeles, parts of florida that would reflect that same sad scene. it's not at all perfect.

i think i'm just impressed that three guys from wealthy families -- raul and fidel as jesuit-trained lawyers, and che guevara a jesuit-trained doctor -- would throw everything away to completely jumpstart how the cuban poor lived BEFORE the revolution to overthrow batista. i don't know that the revolution has been completely successful, but i do give these guys credit for trying, especially in the face of being blackballed by the most powerful country on earth.

you should hear the stories of how the poor weren't at all taken care of pre-1959. i don't think communism or socialism is perfect, as i've only had experience within the capitalist system. but the possibilities of almost everyone being taken care of is appealing.

Your Blame Bahamian attitue will on inflame our anger more....


"blame" bahamians? last i checked, we were ultimately responsible for our own destiny. you may be all right with nassau straw work having "made in china" stickers all over it, but we proud out island weavers most certainly are not! there's no such thing as a free lunch.

"blame" bahamians? last i checked, we were ultimately responsible for our own destiny. you may be all right with nassau straw work having "made in china" stickers all over it, but we proud out island weavers most certainly are not! there's no such thing as a free lunch.


..... Madam Senator, as you know my respect for you has always been high.. having said that carry your lying ssa and go and live in Cubad... take Freed Mitchell and all of the communist PLP with you....

yes, i have, and to mostly non-tourist parts of the country where we've worked on various community projects. and you're absolutely right, it's not always pretty. but then again, i could take you to parts of cat island, parts of los angeles, parts of florida that would reflect that same sad scene. it's not at all perfect.
i think i'm just impressed that three guys from wealthy families -- raul and fidel as jesuit-trained lawyers, and che guevara a jesuit-trained doctor -- would throw everything away to completely jumpstart how the cuban poor lived BEFORE the revolution to overthrow batista. i don't know that the revolution has been completely successful, but i do give these guys credit for trying, especially in the face of being blackballed by the most powerful country on earth.
you should hear the stories of how the poor weren't at all taken care of pre-1959. i don't think communism or socialism is perfect, as i've only had experience within the capitalist system. but the possibilities of almost everyone being taken care of is appealing.

did you clicky the linky?
http://www.therealcuba.com/
here's another:
http://www.therealcuba.com/page5.htm

did you clicky the linky?
http://www.therealcuba.com/
here's another:
http://www.therealcuba.com/page5.htm


sure did. those sites have been around for quite a while, and are courtesy of the cuban american nationalist front in south florida, who have their own agenda for discrediting castro.

i'm not saying that the accusations are untrue, but i do note that most CANF supporters are descendants of the original landowners whose assets were seized by the granma group during the 1959 revolution. once castro is gone, they expect to waltz right back in and pick up where they left off. which may or may not bode well for the have-nots.

Welcome to the site, you seem to be very interesting ? I have one question do you feel that our government is getting to close to Cuba to the annoyance of the US and if you agree, should it matters to us ?


Hi Watsayu, I don't feel qualified to answer your question either about the Bahamian gov.t getting too close to Cuba or that relationship annoying the US. I think that what should matter to Bahamians is continuing to work to strengthen your own strong, independent country without relying on outside help (or interference).

Be careful who you "get into bed with". Remember that Castro started off as the supposed savior of the downtrodden Cuban masses, but decided to ally himself with the USSR, and look at Cuba today. The country that was the most affluent and advanced of Latin America in the 50's is now a shell of its former glory.

Hi Watsayu, I don't feel qualified to answer your question either about the Bahamian gov.t getting too close to Cuba or that relationship annoying the US. I think that what should matter to Bahamians is continuing to work to strengthen your own strong, independent country without relying on outside help (or interference).
Be careful who you "get into bed with". Remember that Castro started off as the supposed savior of the downtrodden Cuban masses, but decided to ally himself with the USSR, and look at Cuba today. The country that was the most affluent and advanced of Latin America in the 50's is now a shell of its former glory.

....... Thanks I appreciate you honesty.

yes, it's called princess margaret hospital, and many of my friends who have given birth there have had to bring their own bedding with them.
****
disclaimer: i'm from the out islands, so have a much different political perspective most of the time than my big city nassau counterparts, given that we in the boondocks are more often than not left to our own devices.
i'm not certain why y'all continue to call fred mitchell's name as though he's the first bahamian politician to make nice with cuba since the onset of the castro regime. even sir stafford and team was part of the group making certain that our relationship with the biggest country in the caribbean stayed intact, from a business and tourism and education and medical standpoint. and the first time that i ever went to havana was with a business development council out of nassau central government in 1999.
my grandfather and uncle worked on the original development board, which became the ministry of tourism back in the 1950s and 1960s, and they were well aware that it made sense for them to keep in touch with the cuban mindset.
whether or not you agree with the socialist experiment currently underway in cuba, you have to stop and notice that there are no homeless in cuba, everyone is educated and can read and write in cuba, there is health care for all in cuba, and there is a job for everyone who wants one. it's eye-opening, frankly, when you realize that far wealthier countries haven't been able to pull of that extensive a social network.
i have as many friends in the southern bahamas and in cuba who support the castro revolution as do oppose it, so i hear both sides on a regular basis. the fact is, whichever bahamian administration you're inclined to bash here, medical facilities in the out islands are spotty at best. we just passed the hat around eleuthera to get an ekg machine at the levy clinic in governor's harbour, for example. some pretty basic supplies and machines are on the clinics' wishlist island-wide, and eleuthera alone has more than eight clinics in place.
most of my friends, male and female, make their way to cuba for medical treatment because 1. they can afford it, 2. the cuban medical system is more preventive, vs. the 'give em drugs and send them home' approach to medical care most often found in nassau and the usa, 3. cuba gets antibiotics years before the pharmaceutical company-compromised FDA does, and 4. they can afford it.
i have several friends who have won the annual u.s. visa lottery and have opted to stay in havana or camaguey or santiago instead. all i'm saying is, your mileage may differ, but you shouldn't buy the propaganda until you've seen it for yourself.
vive le difference!



Oh my friend, I believe you are sadly mistaken. There is not healthcare for all, there isn't even aspirin for all! How many Bahamians has the US Coast Guard intercepted coming across the Gulf Stream on rafts? None? Why not? Why don't you want to live here instead of the Out Islands? I know why - because even with a healthcare system on Eleuthera that is wanting, you have your freedom - (and I'd rather live in the Bahamas too, but I can't just yet! :) Freedom is a very, very precious thing that hundreds of Cubans risk their lives for every year by: crossing the straits in rafts, tires, sailboards, autos rigged to float; protesting their government and getting thrown into jail for it; worshipping God (before the Pope's visit this was very taboo).

They also come for economic reasons, and that brings me to your Cuban friends who won the lottery yet chose to stay. I know many many Cubans here in Miami who have recently arrived, and some want to return. Ya know why? They have to W-O-R-K here in order to live! What a concept. In Cuba, the lack of capitalism prevents an open marketplace and encourages a black market, dog-eat-dog so I can survive and feed my family mentality.

Oh my friend, I believe you are sadly mistaken. There is not healthcare for all, there isn't even aspirin for all! How many Bahamians has the US Coast Guard intercepted coming across the Gulf Stream on rafts? None? Why not? Why don't you want to live here instead of the Out Islands? I know why - because even with a healthcare system on Eleuthera that is wanting, you have your freedom - (and I'd rather live in the Bahamas too, but I can't just yet! :) Freedom is a very, very precious thing that hundreds of Cubans risk their lives for every year by: crossing the straits in rafts, tires, sailboards, autos rigged to float; protesting their government and getting thrown into jail for it; worshipping God (before the Pope's visit this was very taboo).
They also come for economic reasons, and that brings me to your Cuban friends who won the lottery yet chose to stay. I know many many Cubans here in Miami who have recently arrived, and some want to return. Ya know why? They have to W-O-R-K here in order to live! What a concept. In Cuba, the lack of capitalism prevents an open marketplace and encourages a black market, dog-eat-dog so I can survive and feed my family mentality.


..... At least you have the ability to be honest about everything you say... that is most important

Oh my friend, I believe you are sadly mistaken. There is not healthcare for all, there isn't even aspirin for all! How many Bahamians has the US Coast Guard intercepted coming across the Gulf Stream on rafts? None? Why not? Why don't you want to live here instead of the Out Islands? I know why - because even with a healthcare system on Eleuthera that is wanting, you have your freedom - (and I'd rather live in the Bahamas too, but I can't just yet! :) Freedom is a very, very precious thing that hundreds of Cubans risk their lives for every year by: crossing the straits in rafts, tires, sailboards, autos rigged to float; protesting their government and getting thrown into jail for it; worshipping God (before the Pope's visit this was very taboo).
They also come for economic reasons, and that brings me to your Cuban friends who won the lottery yet chose to stay. I know many many Cubans here in Miami who have recently arrived, and some want to return. Ya know why? They have to W-O-R-K here in order to live! What a concept. In Cuba, the lack of capitalism prevents an open marketplace and encourages a black market, dog-eat-dog so I can survive and feed my family mentality.


you certainly make some legitimate points. my beef with most diehard pro or con views of cuba is that they typically come from folks who have never set foot on the island and are instead relying on secondhand reports, that's all. living in cuba is certainly not easy for the 9 million people there. but it's the most casually multicultural place that i have ever been, from kids to adults mixing up colours and languages no matter what they do for a living.

a buddy of mine in old havana is a pediatrician. he's privy to the top medical conferences around the world, is at the top of his profession, has his car and apartment and insurance and food and educational needs taken care of, but only "makes" the equivalent of US $ per month. socialism as an ideal takes care of everyone. while that certainly isn't the case in cuba today, you don't see anyone living on the street.

i don't mean to be an apologist for castro, but the way that cubans live in the many different cities and towns in which i have worked is a calming sight to see. and no, it's not even close to being perfect.