What's so great about Fidel?

[piasabird]

He is just another dictator.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: Vic

Quick! Somebody bring up the embargo again!

OK.

Doesn't it seem rather stupid to have an embargo against Cuba when China is one of our biggest trading partners? Who's more of a threat?

This has been discussed ad naseum here.

And it's going to be discussed even more now that it's time to end it with Castro stepping down. Hell if we would have ended it 20 years ago Castro would have been history a long time ago and Cuba would have a thriving captialistic economy by now.

I won't argue that point. Bring it up with the Cubans in Florida. I have long been against the embargo. I also predict that it will be lifted within the next few years.

My point here in this thread is that it is distraction when discussing Castro.

And pfft.... Castro stepping down. Ah, the poor old king is bedridden. :roll:
More likely he's dead and the Castro family is scrambling to find a way to hold onto power without his cult of personality.

 

[fskimospy]

Originally posted by: palehorse74

wtf?!

edit: nevermind.. I found your source

I'm too lazy to find out how are accurate the quotes are, but knowing how far to the Left Hollywood has been, I wouldnt be surprised to learn they're all true...

Well, they aren't. Amazingly enough Xman is spewing some right wing retardation.

Take the New York Times article for one. He IS right that it says:

Mr. Castro seized power in January 1959 after waging a guerrilla war against the dictator Fulgencio Batista, promising to restore the Cuban Constitution and hold elections.

What he fails to mention is that the very next line is this:

But he soon turned his back on those democratic ideals, embraced a totalitarian brand of communism and allied the island with the Soviet Union. He played a role in taking the world to the brink of nuclear war in the fall of 1962, when he allowed Russia to build missile-launching sites just 90 miles off the American shores. He weathered an American-backed invasion in 1961 and used Cuban troops to stir up revolutions in Africa and Latin America.

Oops!

Shockingly enough I tried looking up these quotes and the majority are unsourced or lead in an endless loop of right wing insane-o sites. In the same loop you will find the sites saying that Castro was Cuba's Saddam, and that he has been intent on destroying the United States for years. These are obviously extremely non crazy sites that we should trust not to take quotes out of context.

note: I'm sure that there are some people out there who do in fact admire Castro... to be honest there are many admirable things about him. Considering the extremely unreliable source for these quotes however I would need backup and context from a credible source before I believed them, particularly in light of Xman's obvious attempt at deception towards the New York Times.

 

[Pabster]

What's so great about Fidel? Absolutely fucking nothing.

 

[ahurtt]

It's that sexy, suave Cuban accent. The people just love it.

 

[ahurtt]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: XMan
The press is going gaga over him . . . to say nothing of his politics, if Cuba was so great, why is it illegal for Cubans to leave the country without the blessing of the government?

I agree. Of course if we are so great why is it illegal to visit Cuba without the blessing of our government?

Um, we can't go to Cuba. . .they can't go ANYWHERE. Big difference.

 

[Pabster]

This has got to be Bush's fault somehow.

When did our embargo begin? :laugh:

 

[ahurtt]

Originally posted by: Pabster
This has got to be Bush's fault somehow.

When did our embargo begin? :laugh:

The embargo began Feb. 7, 1962 but was not codified into law until 1992 'with the stated purpose of "bringing democracy to the Cuban people"'. George H. W. Bush was in the oval office from January 20, 1989 to January 20, 1993 meaning he was in office when the embargo was codified into law. There you go.

EDIT: And more, form Wikipedia:

"Spurred by a burgeoning interest in the assumed untapped product demand in Cuba, a growing number of free-marketers in Congress, backed by Western and Great Plains lawmakers who represent agribusiness, have tried each year since 2000 to water down or completely erase regulations preventing Americans from travelling to Cuba. Four times over that time period the United States House of Representatives has adopted language lifting the travel ban, and in 2003 the U.S. Senate followed suit for the first time. However, each time President George W. Bush, has threatened to veto the bill. Faced with a veto threat, each year Congress has dropped its attempt to lift the travel ban."

 

[jonks]

Originally posted by: XMan
The New York Times . . . Naomi Campbell . . . Oliver Stone . . . Harry Belafonte . . . etc.

Sorry, did you just say Naomi Campbell??

Have you watched any of the press coverage?

NYT: The charismatic Cuban leader seized power in January 1959 after waging a guerrilla war against the then-dictator Fulgencio Batista, promising to restore the Cuban constitution and hold elections.

Why, he's just like George Washington! :roll:

So are you saying he wasn't charismatic? That he didn't seize power? That he didn't wage war against a dictator? That he didn't make those promises? Are you criticizing the NYT for telling the truth, or are you just jumping on the bandwagon of slamming the Times regardless of how accurate they are? That was rhetorical.

Reuters: A charismatic leader famous for his long speeches delivered in his green military fatigues, Castro is admired in the Third World for standing up to the United States but considered by his opponents a tyrant who suppressed freedom.

Again, a balanced perspective. Are you so partisan that anything less than a completely negative portrayal of someone you despise no matter how objectively accurate it may be you find to be "going nuts over"? Again, rhetorical.

Then you go and quote a bunch of actors. Since when do lefty activists hold the same level of regard as the NYT and Reuters? Was that rhetorical? Maybe.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: ahurtt

Originally posted by: Pabster
This has got to be Bush's fault somehow.

When did our embargo begin? :laugh:

The embargo began Feb. 7, 1962 but was not codified into law until 1992 'with the stated purpose of "bringing democracy to the Cuban people"'. George H. W. Bush was in the oval office from January 20, 1989 to January 20, 1993 meaning he was in office when the embargo was codified into law. There you go.

EDIT: And more, form Wikipedia:

"Spurred by a burgeoning interest in the assumed untapped product demand in Cuba, a growing number of free-marketers in Congress, backed by Western and Great Plains lawmakers who represent agribusiness, have tried each year since 2000 to water down or completely erase regulations preventing Americans from travelling to Cuba. Four times over that time period the United States House of Representatives has adopted language lifting the travel ban, and in 2003 the U.S. Senate followed suit for the first time. However, each time President George W. Bush, has threatened to veto the bill. Faced with a veto threat, each year Congress has dropped its attempt to lift the travel ban."

To be fair, the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 you speak of was sponsored by a Democratic congressman and passed by a Democratic Congress.
Then, GW's brother was governor of Florida in 2003, and Jeb depended heavily on the Cuban exile vote.

But hey, everything is Bush's fault...


edit: thanks for pointing out the typo, Red

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: Vic
,GW's brother was governor of Cuba in 2003, and Jeb depended heavily on the Cuban exile vote.

But hey, everything is Bush's fault...

:shocked:

 

[IGBT]

..the secular progressives love the idea that he was president for life and was able to enforce marxist suppresion of truth to support a socialist radical agenda. Secular progressives love dictators. And both are supported in todays media by willing accomplices.

 

[fskimospy]

Originally posted by: IGBT
..the secular progressives love the idea that he was president for life and was able to enforce marxist suppresion of truth to support a socialist radical agenda. Secular progressives love dictators. And both are supported in todays media by willing accomplices.

I nominate this for the stupidest post of February at least. If you really believe this, you are a moron.

 

[Throckmorton]

Message deleted
Hayabusa Rider AnandTech Senior Moderator

 

[heyheybooboo]

If we lift the embargo does that mean we can do away with the billion dollar US sugar subsidy?

And think of the cuban oil! Yippeee !!!