DISCONTENT HAS APPEARED IN THEFORM OF bitterly sarcastic underground jokes-something I never heard in the four years I lived in Cuba. One has Fidel, his brother Ratil and a pilot flying over Cuba. “I think I’ll throw outa 20 peso bill and make some Cuban happy,” says Fidel. “Why don’t you throw out two ten peso bills and make two Cubans happy?” suggests Ra6l. “Or I could throw out four five peso bills and make four Cubans happy,” responds Fidel. The pilot turns around and says, “Why don’t you throw yourselves out and make 10 million Cubans happy.” Another joke has Napoleon returning to Earth to meet with top world leaders. He tells George Bush, “If I had your military might, I never would have lost at Waterloo.” To Gorbachev he says, “If I had your prudence, I would never have fought at Waterloo.” When he meets Fidel he says, “Chico, if I had a press like yours, no one would have ever known I lost Waterloo.” A United Nations representative is conducting a survey, collecting opinions from several countries about the global food shortage. First he asks the Swedes. “Shortage?” they respond. Somewhat perturbed, he tries the Ethiopians. “Food?” they ask. Stymied, he turns to the Cubans. “What is your opinion about the global food shortage?” he asks. “Opinion?”
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