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well joining us now from Manchester is

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the respect party MP George Galloway who

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has met uh Fidel Castro you're a

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Democrat does that pose any problems in

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terms of how you viewed Fidel

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Castro well if people believe the

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package they've just heard which could

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have come from Fox News you would think

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that Fidel Castro was some kind of

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tyrant well I'm sure I can assure you

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that's what your viewers will be

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concluding that was the most biased

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package I've heard today and I've been

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on the media all day let's go over the

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package let's not go over theage I'm

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asking you a simple question your well

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the question is this are the Cuban

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people liberated from the misery that

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afflicts most of the people of the third

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world and the answer is yes they can all

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read and write they live longer than

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they do in Washington DC their children

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are more likely to survive than the

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children of Washington DC they can't

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vote 50 years just well you know Health

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and Longevity and education free at that

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these are human rights too but does that

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not POS you a problem as a Democrat that

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they can't vote let if you will if you

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will let me finish I'll come on to that

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point if it were not for the 50 years of

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Siege blockade assassination Invasion

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subversion by the most powerful country

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in the world just 75 miles away then

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these other rights would have been

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achieved too you bet you'd be better

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addressing your questions to the United

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States of America which for nine

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administrations in a row has done

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everything it could to destroy the Cuban

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Revolution precisely because it's an

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example to the PE the people of the

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third world not least Latin America

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where more and more of them are

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following it in you can't blame

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Washington for the lack of democracy can

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you in in in in Cuba and there's no

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doubt that some people in Cuba want

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democracy and want a say in their

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Affairs well we all want democracy

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but the facts are that in Latin America

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the only way to get elected now is to

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profess friendship with Fidel Castro and

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opposition to George Bush none of which

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was reflected in your package Fidel

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Castro Hugo Chavez seem like the men of

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the hour don't they rather than Milton

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Freedman why don't they go to the

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electorate then in Cuba if if if Fidel

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Castro is so fundamentally popular why

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not make the transition to democracy now

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well well when the United States lifts

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the state of war and Siege on Cuba

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that's irr normal life can no it's

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absolutely irrelevant when Hitler was at

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the channel ports threatening to invade

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us there wasn't much democracy and if

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you'd wandered around the East End tring

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for Hitler you wouldn't have lasted long

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there's every there's every threat

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they've tried to kill Fidel Castro

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hundreds of times they've invaded

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countries all over the world thousands

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of miles from their Hitler didn't stop

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democracy in Britain what makes yes he

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did as a matter of fact many Democratic

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freedoms were suspended in Britain

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especially for those who were prizing

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for Hitler and that's the comparison

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that you have to make we Ling that Siege

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no you did actually if you if you knew

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anything about British history you'd

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know there were no elections you say un

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suff was ended by what by by Hitler in

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the 30s the parties the parties didn't

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fight each other throughout the course

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of the second world

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war young was on our door well let's

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talk about for a minute can we when when

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Hitler was on our doorstep Democratic

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freedoms were ciled in Britain the

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United States is on the doorstep of Cuba

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and has tried to destroy it for nearly

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50 years and so some democratic freedoms

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are Su where do you see the future I

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mean do you see the revolution

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continuing post Fidel or or do you think

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there will be some sort of

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transition despite your propaganda

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socialism Will Survive it's not

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propaganda these are simple questions

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it's Fox News propaganda which I've come

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to get used to from Channel 4 News all

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right fine we put aside we will put

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aside the abuse I'm asking you a simple

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question about how you see the future of

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Cuba do you think there will be some

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transition socialism will survive I know

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that makes you sad but it will survive

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the Free Health Service Will Survive

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free education Will Survive Cuba will

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continue to be an icon for people around

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the world who want to see Liberation and

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want to see the escape from the

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domination of globalized capitalism and

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United States domination George Galloway

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thank you for joining us