RIP Fidel Castro

[SodaJerk]

I always wished I'd get to Cuba before he went.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/26/fidel-castro-cuba-revolutionary-icon-dies

[Level 60 Dwarf Paladin]

Nah, fuck him.

[shark tits]

I always wished I'd get to Cuba before he went.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/26/fidel-castro-cuba-revolutionary-icon-dies

damn, i once had a plot to sail over there. wish i had. now it's gonna be a homogenized piece of shit like everywhere else.
rip el comadante

[essal]

burn in hell dictator scumbag.

also there is still time to go to Cuba before it's all modernized.

[iKobrakai]

I was born in Leningrad, Sovetskij Soyuz, so this is strange. Then again, many parts of my life are dwindling.

[Tufty]

burn in hell dictator scumbag.

also there is still time to go to Cuba before it's all modernized.

Amuricans... Dismissing all socialist leaders as dictators is so American... You know who else was a dictator? Batista. However Amurica didnt mind at all because that dictator was an imperialist puppet of the US.

[mynameisnotjeff]

Ch? was cooler

[Tracer]

Cuba is a shithole but not because of Fidel. Rip he will be missed

[Level 60 Dwarf Paladin]

Expand Quote

burn in hell dictator scumbag.

also there is still time to go to Cuba before it's all modernized.

[close]

Amuricans... Dismissing all socialist leaders as dictators is so American... You know who else was a dictator? Batista. However Amurica didnt mind at all because that dictator was an imperialist puppet of the US.

What about Cubans?
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/11/miami-cuban-americans-celebrate-fidel-castro-death-161126064101470.html

[Tufty]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

burn in hell dictator scumbag.

also there is still time to go to Cuba before it's all modernized.

[close]

Amuricans... Dismissing all socialist leaders as dictators is so American... You know who else was a dictator? Batista. However Amurica didnt mind at all because that dictator was an imperialist puppet of the US.

[close]

What about Cubans?
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/11/miami-cuban-americans-celebrate-fidel-castro-death-161126064101470.html

They have their reasons... Being Cuban is hard especially after the fall of USSR, some people believe in socialism and are ready to live it even with the harsh consequences of US-led embargo. Some others think that Fidel is a dictator and flea the country. I believe that fidel and Cubans chose the truth, but truth is always the hard way to go. Most people prefer the lie that capitalism provides them, I understand that is more comforting...

Socialism in one country or Stalinism if you prefer cant exist without dictatorship. That is not because those guys wanted to be dictators or because socialism cant be democratic. Its because the US and the rest of imperialists wont let em do otherwise.

[20matar]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

burn in hell dictator scumbag.

also there is still time to go to Cuba before it's all modernized.

[close]

Amuricans... Dismissing all socialist leaders as dictators is so American... You know who else was a dictator? Batista. However Amurica didnt mind at all because that dictator was an imperialist puppet of the US.

[close]

What about Cubans?
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/11/miami-cuban-americans-celebrate-fidel-castro-death-161126064101470.html

Keep in mind that they're the ones who left... obviously, people don't leave their countries "just because", but the US is close enough, and an unfair neighbor to compare yourself with. Who are Cuba's neighbors in the Caribbean? How are they faring in regards to healthcare, illiteracy, homelessness, poverty, starvation, even? Even the USA are not so peachy in some of those aspects... The United States first actively brought Cubans in through airlifts and boat lifts, then made special allowances for those who fled Cuba, and Cuba only. That's an interesting policy, especially considering the world of today...

Fidel was a strongman and a dictator, no doubt about it, but the revolution did great things for Cuba. Without strong partners like the late USSR, and the blockade still in place, no wonder the country went through a harsh lot. The island has been changing during the past 10 years, especially with his brother's rule...  count me in the bandwagon of people who wish they could have visited Cuba as it was still itself. In the end, the change will come not after the bang of a successful CIA assassination attempt, or through a Bay of Pigs 2: Electric Cubaton invasion, but with the whimper of an opening. The embargo will be over soon (will it now?), foreign investment and companies and capital will soon flow in, and the allure of joining the consumer world is too much and too real.  One saying about the Castro bros is that, with a whistle, Fidel could make a noise that Raul couldn't make with a orchestra. The farmer's eye fattens the pig, after all.

As for Fidel... I can't feel truly sad about his death. He lived one hell of a life in years and in achievements, and was a true revolutionary whose name will never be forgotten. Fidel was indeed a brute, a man of many faults, but a symbol against imperialism, poverty, unequality, not only in Cuba, but worldwide. For those looking for saints, Fidel is definitely not a model to be followed. But it's my belief, to quote a great man who left us today, that history will absolve Fidel Castro.

[botefdunn]

I always wished I'd get to Cuba before he went.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/26/fidel-castro-cuba-revolutionary-icon-dies

I had the same idea, knew I was running out of time... rip

[Alan]

Heh

[Alan]

Also, if anyone's interested in reading about Cuba's role in Africa, read these:

[glutton.]

It disgusts me to see anyone celebrate the death of another human being, no matter what they did.

[KING TUT]

It disgusts me to see anyone celebrate the death of another human being, no matter what they did.

pussy

[7 year old]

anybody seen Buena Vista Social Club? so rad.

this guy's death means absolutely nothing for Cuba's economy, I can understand why some people are celebrating it but it's an empty gesture, it does nothing but make you look bad. some weird ideological shit that at this point is entirely removed from reality.

[Glue Reed]

I find it funny that the only people who compliment socialist/communist countries are the ones that have never lived in them.  I understand the benefits but it's easy to ignore the downsides or write them off when you don't have to live with it.

My grandmother was from Cuba (even though she left well before Castro took over) but absolutely hated Castro with that infamous Cuban-passion.

To me (a person who has never lived in Cuba so everything I know is from media), Castro was neither the evil dictator many American politicians claim he was, nor the amazing renegade/rebel/savior lefties (and Colin Kaepernick)  seem to think he is.  They have great healthcare and literacy rates in Cuba, but they also have repressed free speech, no freedom of the press and the arts/music communites are forced to unionize and they're work "approved" by the government.  Castro promised open elections when he took over... and uh yeah that may happen any day now.  Socialism on paper sounds like a great counter to capitalism but never seems to factor in the human ego.

However, Fidel is a remarkable person for good or bad, and a improvement over the corrupt Bautista.  Out of all the famous "dictators" he seemed to be the least sadistic. 

really good article (as usual from the Washington Post) that covers the good and bad:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/fidel-castro-cuban-dictator-dies-at-90/2016/11/26/f37bf3bc-b399-11e6-be1c-8cec35b1ad25_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-banner-main_ob-main-castro-desktop%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

[shark tits]

I find it funny that the only people who compliment socialist/communist countries are the ones that have never lived in them.  I understand the benefits but it's easy to ignore the downsides or write them off when you don't have to live with it.

My grandmother was from Cuba (even though she left well before Castro took over) but absolutely hated Castro with that infamous Cuban-passion.

To me (a person who has never lived in Cuba so everything I know is from media), Castro was neither the evil dictator many American politicians claim he was, nor the amazing renegade/rebel/savior lefties (and Colin Kaepernick)  seem to think he is.  They have great healthcare and literacy rates in Cuba, but they also have repressed free speech, no freedom of the press and the arts/music communites are forced to unionize and they're work "approved" by the government.  Castro promised open elections when he took over... and uh yeah that may happen any day now.  Socialism on paper sounds like a great counter to capitalism but never seems to factor in the human ego.

However, Fidel is a remarkable person for good or bad, and a improvement over the corrupt Bautista.  Out of all the famous "dictators" he seemed to be the least sadistic. 

really good article (as usual from the Washington Post) that covers the good and bad:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/fidel-castro-cuban-dictator-dies-at-90/2016/11/26/f37bf3bc-b399-11e6-be1c-8cec35b1ad25_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-banner-main_ob-main-castro-desktop%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

i fucks w/ anyone who pulls a coup. especially after failing the first time [see also saddam hussein]. being a nation leader is messy business. i wish he could do it all peaceful-like but it's not the reality. he also survived 600 assassination plots [don't think actual attempts]. he's hostile? he got a right to be hostile!
nah, but of course i'm aggrandizing him from afar. the only president who's human rights abuses affect me is whatever jobber is in the white house. prolly if there weren't the embargo and bullshit life would've been better for the average cuban independent of castro.

[Glue Reed]

Expand Quote

I find it funny that the only people who compliment socialist/communist countries are the ones that have never lived in them.  I understand the benefits but it's easy to ignore the downsides or write them off when you don't have to live with it.

My grandmother was from Cuba (even though she left well before Castro took over) but absolutely hated Castro with that infamous Cuban-passion.

To me (a person who has never lived in Cuba so everything I know is from media), Castro was neither the evil dictator many American politicians claim he was, nor the amazing renegade/rebel/savior lefties (and Colin Kaepernick)  seem to think he is.  They have great healthcare and literacy rates in Cuba, but they also have repressed free speech, no freedom of the press and the arts/music communites are forced to unionize and they're work "approved" by the government.  Castro promised open elections when he took over... and uh yeah that may happen any day now.  Socialism on paper sounds like a great counter to capitalism but never seems to factor in the human ego.

However, Fidel is a remarkable person for good or bad, and a improvement over the corrupt Bautista.  Out of all the famous "dictators" he seemed to be the least sadistic. 

really good article (as usual from the Washington Post) that covers the good and bad:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/fidel-castro-cuban-dictator-dies-at-90/2016/11/26/f37bf3bc-b399-11e6-be1c-8cec35b1ad25_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-banner-main_ob-main-castro-desktop%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

[close]

i fucks w/ anyone who pulls a coup. especially after failing the first time [see also saddam hussein]. being a nation leader is messy business. i wish he could do it all peaceful-like but it's not the reality. he also survived 600 assassination plots [don't think actual attempts]. he's hostile? he got a right to be hostile!
nah, but of course i'm aggrandizing him from afar. the only president who's human rights abuses affect me is whatever jobber is in the white house. prolly if there weren't the embargo and bullshit life would've been better for the average cuban independent of castro.

Oh I'm actually with you on this one.  it's hard because I try to think of it two ways... one as an outsider admiring somebody who overthrew a greedy and corrupt governent....and one who realizes i'm an outsider and I'll never truly know what it's like living under that regime and oppression. 

I'm also always weary of the whole "we americans are doing it right... anybody doing it differn't is bad bad bad".

Maybe what I posted above doesn't reflect it but I have utmost respect for the guy.  Larger than life, both in image and in reality.  Only guy he couldn't best was father time.

Hell of a ballplayer, too!

[botefdunn]

I find it funny that the only people who compliment socialist/communist countries are the ones that have never lived in them.� I understand the benefits but it's easy to ignore the downsides or write them off when you don't have to live with it.

My grandmother was from Cuba (even though she left well before Castro took over) but absolutely hated Castro with that infamous Cuban-passion.

To me (a person who has never lived in Cuba so everything I know is from media), Castro was neither the evil dictator many American politicians claim he was, nor the amazing renegade/rebel/savior lefties (and Colin Kaepernick)� seem to think he is.� They have great healthcare and literacy rates in Cuba, but they also have repressed free speech, no freedom of the press and the arts/music communites are forced to unionize and they're work "approved" by the government.� Castro promised open elections when he took over... and uh yeah that may happen any day now.� Socialism on paper sounds like a great counter to capitalism but never seems to factor in the human ego.

However, Fidel is a remarkable person for good or bad, and a improvement over the corrupt Bautista.� Out of all the famous "dictators" he seemed to be the least sadistic.�

really good article (as usual from the Washington Post) that covers the good and bad:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/fidel-castro-cuban-dictator-dies-at-90/2016/11/26/f37bf3bc-b399-11e6-be1c-8cec35b1ad25_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-banner-main_ob-main-castro-desktop%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

first of all, socialism and communism are entirely different things, unless you are watching fox news.

second, I have lived in socialist and communist countries, and for what my opinion is worth (not much, but you kind of asked), I can see that Fidel made some smart decisions, along with some bad ones.

But more importantly, there are many cubans both in Cuba and abroad that believe Castro did some good, if not downright adore him. So yeah, I find it funny that you, who have never been to Cuba, think you can just ignore what a very large percentage of the Cuban population past and present are saying, because it doesn't mesh with your grandma's view (no disrespect to grams though, I'm sure she has her reasons).

Lastly, and perhaps most important: show me another place down there  that isn't just a tourist trap or an expat haven with a better quality of life. Jamaica? Haiti? Dominican Republic? What do you think Cuba would be today without Castro? Bankrupt like Puerto Rico?

[Glue Reed]

Expand Quote

I find it funny that the only people who compliment socialist/communist countries are the ones that have never lived in them.� I understand the benefits but it's easy to ignore the downsides or write them off when you don't have to live with it.

My grandmother was from Cuba (even though she left well before Castro took over) but absolutely hated Castro with that infamous Cuban-passion.

To me (a person who has never lived in Cuba so everything I know is from media), Castro was neither the evil dictator many American politicians claim he was, nor the amazing renegade/rebel/savior lefties (and Colin Kaepernick)� seem to think he is.� They have great healthcare and literacy rates in Cuba, but they also have repressed free speech, no freedom of the press and the arts/music communites are forced to unionize and they're work "approved" by the government.� Castro promised open elections when he took over... and uh yeah that may happen any day now.� Socialism on paper sounds like a great counter to capitalism but never seems to factor in the human ego.

However, Fidel is a remarkable person for good or bad, and a improvement over the corrupt Bautista.� Out of all the famous "dictators" he seemed to be the least sadistic.�

really good article (as usual from the Washington Post) that covers the good and bad:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/fidel-castro-cuban-dictator-dies-at-90/2016/11/26/f37bf3bc-b399-11e6-be1c-8cec35b1ad25_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-banner-main_ob-main-castro-desktop%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

[close]

first of all, socialism and communism are entirely different things, unless you are watching fox news.

second, I have lived in socialist and communist countries, and for what my opinion is worth (not much, but you kind of asked), I can see that Fidel made some smart decisions, along with some bad ones.

But more importantly, there are many cubans both in Cuba and abroad that believe Castro did some good, if not downright adore him. So yeah, I find it funny that you, who have never been to Cuba, think you can just ignore what a very large percentage of the Cuban population past and present are saying, because it doesn't mesh with your grandma's view (no disrespect to grams though, I'm sure she has her reasons).

Lastly, and perhaps most important: show me another place down there  that isn't just a tourist trap or an expat haven with a better quality of life. Jamaica? Haiti? Dominican Republic? What do you think Cuba would be today without Castro? Bankrupt like Puerto Rico?

I never ignored the percentage that adored Castro.. Actually I clarified that there are two sides. 

It's true that any type of "ism" is going to have it's winner and losers.

I saw on the news in Miami there was some showdown in Little Havana, Castro supporters on one side and Castro death-celebrators on the other, just rabidly screaming and gesturing at each other.  It's crazy to see how strong that divide is.

[straight]

who left in charge now? dennis or duane