puntiniCAZpuntini

"I want to see if someone will rebel." It's like saying you have a newly formed cancer in your lungs, and instead of quitting smoking while you can still save yourself, you keep going until you're in an iron lung, so you’re left with no choice but to stop... but most likely, you die anyway. In Cuba, few want to rebel because few know it is needed. And it's like that almost everywhere, because that's how it happens in a "well" managed dictatorship.

<< between a Cuban who is escaping and a Mexican is that in Florida they treat him as a political refugee >> And so, would you want to destroy our country to get a green card? Wouldn't it be easier to marry some fat idiot from Wyoming? I couldn’t care less about being a political refugee, me and all of us, thanks to the Italians who came before us, can go to America and stay there for 3 months for tourism, 6 or more for study, and if we find a job that guarantees us a decent life (or marry some stupid cow from Maine) they even give us citizenship. So we’re doing even better than the Cubans, can you believe that? And my mom doesn’t even complain! Incredible, we live in a wonderful place almost...

<<< We need to copy Cuba yes! We need to copy Cuba because life in Cuba is tough just like in Haiti - we need to copy Cuba because there is a dictatorship in Cuba and the whole world knows it - we need to copy Cuba because I'm tired of people who complain and do nothing - we need to copy Cuba because that way we’ll have another embargo and autarky will bring back 50,000 migrants to Carbonia (and Porto Pineddu will be as crowded as Cattolica) - we need to copy Cuba because Castro is a bandit but we have his holiness Uncle Silvio. >>> You forgot: we need to copy Cuba because I want my mom, my sister, my wife, and my daughter to go out and work. This, from what they've told me, is the worst thing about Cuba. If you think about it, it's not funny at all.

<<< In the end, they are opinions, points of view >>> Not at all, they are verifiable economic data. It’s obvious that now a Ukrainian is suffering; their economy has just been born, and especially it was born late, but better late than never. If they had stayed as they were, they would have remained the same for millennia; instead, now, if they want, they can improve. If they want, they can also get worse. <<< In the first elections after the fall of the wall, they voted for the communist party with over 80% >>> Of course, in the beginning. Give them time to understand and try; it is rare for such a large and radical change to be assimilated quickly, especially when comparing years and years against just a few months. Opinions are personal, not economic. For example, in my personal opinion, just the fact of being the same as someone else makes me feel irritated. Not because I want to be better or worse, but simply because it is unacceptable that I be the same and that my position cannot change over time, for better or for worse. To give a ridiculous example, it’s like playing poker without money. There’s no risk or possibility of winning; it’s a apathetic game without final goals that you play half-heartedly. Crap for crap, I’d rather vote for a piece of crap with some purpose in life, rather than one who believes in the nullification of purposes. I always read on these pages that many are convinced that Italians don’t know who Silvio is, while Italians do know, they just see him as the lesser evil. These, indeed, are just opinions.

Copying Cuba? Then you say that in Italy they brainwash you. The most consistent source of income for the people in tourist cities is prostitution (wow!). The source of income for the countryside does not exist; they live off what they grow. Sources of information and cultural growth do not exist. If you want to emigrate, you can't. If you want to share your thoughts with others, you can't. You go to Cuba and everyone tells you "we're doing great," you talk to a Cuban in Italy and they say "until I saw the rest of the world, I didn't realize how messed up we are," and everyone says exactly the same thing. Everyone, the exact same thing. Find a pro-Cuba Cuban who isn't in Cuba; it doesn't exist. Desde Cuba | un portal de periodismo ciudadano <- one of the most famous examples; wanting, there are also small excerpts in Italian link rotto --- I have always considered communism the worst political evil in the history of mankind, but since I have been spending time with some Cubans (wives of friends, or musicians who managed to emigrate) my opinion has deteriorated even further. <<< But maybe it was better before; it was better to have the benefit of the doubt than a bitter certainty. >>> Said by someone who lives in Brazil is really laughable, one of the countries where wealth is most poorly concentrated in the world, and you criticize Italy? The average Brazilian is dominated and content; they could live millions of times better than other citizens of the world, yet they live in a mud hut and laugh. Meanwhile, the heirs of the conquerors live in estates of hundreds of acres, and laugh even more. Okay, Italy is a mess, but there is much worse out there, because at least we know we are in a mess, while many others are convinced they are in water when instead it's diarrhea.

<<< the problem is ourselves. >>> Yes.

<<< we should force our way in, kick them all in the ass and slap them, and throw them out of there. Period. >> Yeah. History teaches that it's governments that fear the people when they are united. The problem now is to unite and plan for an "after," because it only takes an afternoon to kick four idiots out, the real issue comes when you ask, "and now who sits down?" It's an incredibly complicated thing to do well (to do it badly, just copy Cuba), but if it isn’t done, many more complications await.

"Think about it, people..." And about what? Listing two million flaws - just like politicians do - doesn’t lead to anything. Let’s be clear, it’s not that you have to propose something, it’s just that complaints have become futile. And you might say, "What do you want me to do, a 3000-page reform program?" and you’d be right. For me, it’s just pointless to talk about these things here because logically, all you get is an enormous list of criticisms. More than "reflecting," I would say to participate. In active sites that propose something (anything), in petitions, in movements, in demonstrations, in the whole movement that, despite many saying "it’s worth a damn," exists and needs support. Whether it's the V-Days or the petitions of "voglio scendere," whether it's the idiotic delusions of signoraggio.it or the massive nonsense of chemtrails or the hilarious utopias of the Venus Project (I mock them, but I’ve signed up), because criticisms must be addressed to those responsible. As far as I know, right now the Italian vicious cycle has spun so much that anyone who tries to enter with good intentions either fails to implement them (and then gets sidelined) or gives in to the trend or resigns. It’s all of us who need to stop it, and it’s technically impossible to do it only with votes. But we must believe in it, not get discouraged thinking about how many fools populate the world but realize that in the end, those of sound mind aren’t that few.

Justin Greaves hasn't been with the Wizard for years; he was only there long enough for an album (We Live) and a tour. By the time the first CBP came out, he was no longer Giustino's drummer. As for these CBP, I don't know, I've never found the right moment to listen to them (or when I did have the time, they didn't come to mind). If you put them on in the morning on your way to work, you'll crash (but is it spelled with a 'k'?) in the bathroom...

In 2006, they got back together and released an album, and another one came out last month. I haven't heard them, I have no idea how they sound after 25 years of inactivity (at least officially; who knows, maybe I’ll find out they’ve been session musicians for the best music artists in the world).