Maryland abolishes death penalty.

[Jester]

Yes indeed, because of the collapse of the Soviet Union they were left even more isolated.

Mostly, they lost their source of free money. The Soviets were bankrolling massive Cuban deficits, year after year.

And here we are directly at a point i have made many times.....and isolated communist state, especially when it is a small country, will of course always have difficulties......not because of it being communist, but because of the countries surrounding it have attraction to citizen who just like all of us would rather be rich and decadent.
This sadly 'requires' to take away freedom, because otherwise your country would collapse.

I read this over and over again, and it still seems horrifying. What does it mean, to be "required" to take away freedoms, because Cubans, like everyone else, want to be "rich and decadent"? Is the argument that the Cuban system would be great, if only Cubans were different from everyone else, and preferred austere poverty in the name of socialism? I seem to remember Che trying that argument. It seems inhuman.

-Jester