The US prison numbers (and for that matter the US health care numbers) are a tough pill to swallow, but like it or not they make a clear statement about life in the US versus life in other countries. As I said before, there is no excuse for Cuba locking up political prisoners, but at the same time I would be trying to clean my own house before telling other people to clean up theirs.
The theory that the numbers are skewed only because China, Cuba, Russia, etc. do not report all their prisoners does not explain why the US jails 7x more than Canada, 11x more than Japan, etc. I think it is clear that there is a major problem in the US in regards to freedom.
As for what constitutes a political crime, any victimless crime is almost certainly a political crime as it was added onto the books by politicians interested not in preserving peoples rights but rather to benefit some group or another. More so, a victimless crime that is used to lock up 1/3 of the males of a specific race is most certainly a political crime.
I am sure in Cuba as in the US if you follow the letter of the law including the unjust political laws, than you will likely stay out of jail. Granted, the fact that we can complain about the political crimes in the US without fear of repercussions is nice...especially if you like beating your head against a wall as I apparently do.
AmbergrisCaye.com 
