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Odds and ends
- Nick Miroff writes in GlobalPost about the Cubans who benefit economically from foreign travelers, and uncovers yet another Victory for American Foreign Policy: when the travel website Hostelworld.com came under American ownership, it had to remove listings of casas particulares in Cuba – room rentals by family entrepreneurs. Maybe it’s time for federal agents to fan out to seize Lonely Planet and other Cuba travel guides that do the same thing, in print.
- From Cubanet, a rumor that Cuba is about to introduce a new currency, the Mambi.
- Two old video gems from Penultimos Dias: Nixon and Kennedy debating Cuba – with Nixon arguing that supporting Cuban exiles in a military operation would violate international law and fail to achieve its objectives – and a 1929 Swedish cruise to Havana.
- Tracey Eaton on a documentary about Victor Alvarez, a Cuban musician who returned after 43 years.
- A tech columnist speculates that Cuba could become a call center outsourcing location. Reasons: ability to reach the U.S. Latino market, low indices of corruption, and the “growing proportion” of the Cuban workforce that works in international tourism, which “has led many individuals to take on significant training by foreign hotel operators and tour companies in order to bring their service skills to Western standards.”
7 comments:
"low indices of corruption"...priceless.
According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, only Costa Rica, Uruguay and Chile rank better in the region in terms of corruption.
anony 443.
I see your ideology keeps you from seeing the 360 view.
Its totally true, in latin american context, (and lower up to upper middle level) , relatively very low corrruption in Cuba. Have you ever been to mexico, hati, or Peru???
Cuba much less corrput. Its just a fact, sorry you don't like them.
On Planet Leftside, there is no corruption in Cuba.
There is corruption, just not as extensive, at least on ground level, as in other like countries such as Hati, Mexico, or say, Iraq or Afgan.
This is illustrated in bribe system. Cuban police and customs, at least from my experience, are much more trustworthy, than say their counterparts in DR or Mexico.
Regular citizens of each country, i've found at least ancedotally, trust ground level police and customs , much more in cuba than in other LA countries.
This does NOT mean that the rules they apply are just, but rather that rules are generally followed in Cuba; in contrast, official regularly flout rules in other LA countires, at least on ground level.
If you don't know these countries (i.e. have spent time there), then you by definition can have no opinion on this.
There is "NO corruption in Cuba," just as in Bolshevik Russia there was "NO typhus in Moscow, comrade" (see the film Doctor Zhivago). Seriously now, how many complaints about police corruption have you read in Granma? CASE CLOSED.
Now let's move on to a more serious subject, such as the U.S. kazoo band thrilling the folks in Guanahacabibes with the all-important goal of "improving U.S.-Cuban relations."
No corruption in Cuba,right? Just ask any "jinetera" along side the Malecon any night who are the paying their money to be allowed to roam freely and pick up tourists.
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