Posted by manualblock [ 69.112.69.86 ] on August 20, 2005 at 11:18:13:
I am watching the "Buena Vista Social Club", on TV. All those guys playing are in their 70's-90's. They look contented and happy and they make beautifull music together. Throughout the movie many musical paople appear and reflect the same attributes.
Last week I read an article in Harpers concerning the concept of Greenfarming or the manipulation of agriculture using natural means. No fertilizer/insecticides etc. It is called permaculture and is a worldwide movement especially in poorer third world nations.
Cuba has raised this concept to such a high point of scientific success that first world land managers from all of the first world economies come there to study their methods.
After the Soviet abandonement of Cuba in the early 90's they suffered terribly from the U.S. lead embargo. Many small children perished of malnutrition and so the Cubans went to work and devised these methods of growing that increased the viability and yields of crop harvests to a spectacular extent.
They are now one of the most self-sufficient countries in the world. True they lack certain medicines but the facts are their infant mortality rates are, as of 2004 better than those of the U.S. Their life-expectancy is also higher. And many of their Hospitals and the quality of their health care is first rate.
And they make beautiful music and play great baseball.
As we watch the film we see a country that is obviously very poor and the most frequent retort is that if they are doing so good why are they building rafts and dying to cross over to our side everyday.
Well except for those who are seeking to re-unite with relatives lost long ago since the embargo and those who seek to get wealth and power in a new land; and of course that dirty trick Castro played of letting all his convicted felons out to escape to America, there really isn't many people attempting this crossing. Certainly less than the average group from Mexico.
My point? They don't have any material things like boats and hyper-powerful cars and 20k$ stereo's and ski chalets; but they laugh and make music that is exceptionally beautiful and they live a very long time on average. And the same number of kids survive there as do here. And they are considered one of the most healthy sample populations on average in the world. And geuss what;..no Wal-Marts.
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