By golly, Soviet Canuckistan lives on, the home of real freedom, the beacon of back bacon, and the hope of the World!!! I have returned from a factfinding mission to capitalist Trinidad, an island in the sun, surviving happily despite the hideous ravages of capitalist excess, due to the good humour and open hearts of its people!
My observations re Trinidad versus Cuba:
1. Cuba - free medical care for all. Trinidad - medical care for them that can afford it (but it's fairly cheap).
2. Cuba - busy traffic with very little rules of the road, including horse-drawn carriages on up to modern vehicles. Trinidad - the same, except for the horse-drawn carriages. Many more modern cars.
3. Cuba - dirt cheap rent. Trinidad - moderately cheap rent (by Canadian standards).
4. Cuba - Safe streets by day and night. Trinidad - Whole lot of crime in the cities, but not in the villages.
5. Cuba - Very few consumer goods and no advertising. Trinidad - Plenty of both.
6. Cuba - Elections without parties (you vote for the individual of your choice between various candidates). Government is considered inflexible and hard to talk to. Trinidad - Multi-party elections for corrupt politicians who lie to get elected, take payoffs from rich scoundrels, and rob the public. Government is considered corrupt and hard to talk to. :-)
7. Weather - glorious in both countries. No hurricanes in Trinidad.
8. People - Lively, bright, and very nice for the most part in both countries...
9. Favourite crimes in Trinidad - kidnapping, armed robbery, break and entry, car theft, murder, drunk & disorderly. Favourite crimes in Cuba - open opposition to the government, boating to Florida, black market, drunk & disorderly.
10. Cuban cops - tough, no nonsense. Trinidad cops - corrupt, treacherous, tough, stay clear of them.
So...how does all this compare to Soviet Canuckistan (Canada)??? Well, we've still got the best, most responsible police force in the world, a very orderly highway system, lousy weather (unless you love snow and ice), more Tim Hortons donut shops than you can imagine, and cute animals (moose & beaver) as national symbols. And we've still got Medicare (keep your fingers crossed).