Cuba is one of my favourite tests to see if someone is an economic or political moron. If you do not think that Cuba is one of the low points on the planet, you qualify. So a bit of news worth repeating:

President Raul Castro issued a stern warning to entrepreneurs pushing the boundaries of Cuba’s economic reform, telling parliament on Saturday that ‘those pressuring us to move faster are moving us toward failure.’

Castro has legalized small-scale, private businesses in nearly 200 fields since 2010, but has issued tighter regulations on businesses seen as going too far or competing excessively with state enterprises. In recent months, the government has banned the resale of imported hardware and clothing and cracked down on unlicensed private videogame and movie salons.

It’s not as if everyone on the island is unaware of how much they have to endure. But for anyone in the rest of the world who thinks of Cuba as anything other than a sewer, they are as cruel in their political beliefs as anyone who has ever walked the earth.