Castro's Dead

Garry H

As above

mrfpb

I am sensing a collective shrug on the part of forumites.

He made Cuba into a "mouse that roared" as an island nation, stood up to the USA but nearly started a nuclear war.

sungod

kicked out corrupt scum, but replaced it with equally dodgy rule

shows the pettiness of nations, over fifty years of sanctions because the usa didn't like its puppets being ousted

joelsim

2016 hasn't been a good year.

sungod

21st hasn't been a good century

veronese68

sungod wrote:

kicked out corrupt scum, but replaced it with equally dodgy rule

shows the pettiness of nations, over fifty years of sanctions because the usa didn't like its puppets being ousted

Very much so, it was an embarrassment to the US having a communist nation a mere 90 miles away.

surrey_commuter

Despite sanctions the Cuban healthcare system is admired throughout the world. It's infant mortality rates and longevity are comparable with developed countries.

Education is pretty good as well

mamba80

i think should all spare a thought for stevo at this traumatic time for him, Castro was stevo's boyhood hero and Stevo made several visits to Cuba to pay homage to the great man.
this and the constant contact the 2 men had over many years forged Stevo's left wing credentials and helped make Steve the working mans hero he is today.

Deepest sympathies at your loss Stevo.

DeVlaeminck

Whatever else I don't think there can be much doubt Cubans are better off for Castro's revolution.

Stevo_666

mamba80 wrote:

i think should all spare a thought for stevo at this traumatic time for him, Castro was stevo's boyhood hero and Stevo made several visits to Cuba to pay homage to the great man.
this and the constant contact the 2 men had over many years forged Stevo's left wing credentials and helped make Steve the working mans hero he is today.

Deepest sympathies at your loss Stevo.

Castro's Cuba taught us some valuable lessons

evil_breakfast

My first thought when I heard the news was the recollection when the (Post-Richey) Manics met him...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA7T2LmbJEM

bendertherobot

Trump, not a fan.

bendertherobot

Corbyn, big fan.

Stevo_666

Cubans, lots of them not big fans.
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/cuban-immigrants-united-states

bompington

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Whatever else I don't think there can be much doubt Cubans are better off for Castro's revolution.

Well, I have just a little bit... It's possible that the thousands and thousands of political prisoners, the 10% or so of the population who have risked their lives to flee to the US, and the millions stuck in abject poverty and repressive and authoritarian government might have some doubts too.

DeVlaeminck

bompington wrote:

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Whatever else I don't think there can be much doubt Cubans are better off for Castro's revolution.

Well, I have just a little bit... It's possible that the thousands and thousands of political prisoners, the 10% or so of the population who have risked their lives to flee to the US, and the millions stuck in abject poverty and repressive and authoritarian government might have some doubts too.

There will always be some people who are never satisfied.

Stevo_666

DeVlaeminck wrote:

bompington wrote:

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Whatever else I don't think there can be much doubt Cubans are better off for Castro's revolution.

Well, I have just a little bit... It's possible that the thousands and thousands of political prisoners, the 10% or so of the population who have risked their lives to flee to the US, and the millions stuck in abject poverty and repressive and authoritarian government might have some doubts too.

There will always be some people who are never satisfied.

Given some of the issues faced by Cubans that Bompington mentions, it's not as if they are being overly picky is it.

Frank the tank

The USA are the biggest meddlers and fuckers up of the world there has ever been.
That is not leftie propaganda it is a fact.
Forget Stalin and Hitler they were playing at it, they killed/murdered millions between them however the USA have instigated the need for and provided the means for numerous populous to wage war upon each other. The US is a total bag of shit that has exploited its position of the worlds largest economy for worse rather than better.
How many have died over oil money, how many have died over political ideology (Vietnam) US big business were providing the means for Nazi Germany to continue waging war whilst sending its own citizens to fight and die in that conflict.
Castro, a man who lead a peasants rebellion against a corrupt US supported regime, castigated, do me a favour the man had bollocks.
The yanks are the great believers in democracy as long as it is there way, ask Noriega in Nicaragua.

Stevo_666

At least the US is a democracy, which is more than you can say for Cuba.

Frank the tank

Stevo 666 wrote:

At least the US is a democracy, which is more than you can say for Cuba.

Really,
I understand Clinton got more votes than Trump!
That's democracy for ya.
Thing is democracy or not Cuba hasn't f**ked the world up.

Frank the tank

Still thinking then Stevo?
There is no right and proper answer.
The us electoral system is not democratic like ours isn't
However the US are perpatrators of wars all around the world to suit their own ends.

Ben6899

We're off to Cuba, next April. Before it goes down hill.

Stevo_666

Frank the tank wrote:

Still thinking then Stevo?
There is no right and proper answer.
The us electoral system is not democratic like ours isn't
However the US are perpatrators of wars all around the world to suit their own ends.

There's a slight difference between a democratic system with flaws in it and a one party state. Would you prefer the latter Frank?

Stevo_666

Ben6899 wrote:

We're off to Cuba, next April. Before it goes down hill.

Don't worry, his brother is in charge now. Smooth transition with no need for this pesky voting malarkey.

RideOnTime

Stevo 666 wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

We're off to Cuba, next April. Before it goes down hill.

Don't worry, his brother is in charge now. Smooth transition with no need for this pesky voting malarkey.

Been twice, it's a great country to visit, fascinating modern history. Try and explore away from the tourist resorts. These are completely sanitised.

surrey_commuter

Frank the tank wrote:

The USA are the biggest meddlers and idiots up of the world there has ever been.
That is not leftie propaganda it is a fact.
Forget Stalin and Hitler they were playing at it, they killed/murdered millions between them however the USA have instigated the need for and provided the means for numerous populous to wage war upon each other. The US is a total bag of shoot that has exploited its position of the worlds largest economy for worse rather than better.
How many have died over oil money, how many have died over political ideology (Vietnam) US big business were providing the means for Nazi Germany to continue waging war whilst sending its own citizens to fight and die in that conflict.
Castro, a man who lead a peasants rebellion against a corrupt US supported regime, castigated, do me a favour the man had ****.
The yanks are the great believers in democracy as long as it is there way, ask Noriega in Nicaragua.

You do not mention the attempted genocide of the indigenous population, their role in the slave trade, apartheid and ongoing dubious civil rights record

surrey_commuter

Stevo 666 wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

We're off to Cuba, next April. Before it goes down hill.

Don't worry, his brother is in charge now. Smooth transition with no need for this pesky voting malarkey.

He has been in charge for a decade

Ben6899

RideOnTime wrote:

Stevo 666 wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

We're off to Cuba, next April. Before it goes down hill.

Don't worry, his brother is in charge now. Smooth transition with no need for this pesky voting malarkey.

Been twice, it's a great country to visit, fascinating modern history. Try and explore away from the tourist resorts. These are completely sanitised.

That's exactly our intention. By "down hill", I did mean "further sanitised"... now that the Yanks are allowed in.

Stevo_666

Surrey Commuter wrote:

Stevo 666 wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

We're off to Cuba, next April. Before it goes down hill.

Don't worry, his brother is in charge now. Smooth transition with no need for this pesky voting malarkey.

He has been in charge for a decade

As I said then...

ugo.santalucia

Castro was the last remainder that the 1900 as a century existed... now it's something you read about in the history books. Like any leader/dictator he had very bad press from the west... just like Gaddafi and of course more deservedly so Saddam Hussein.
The last revolutionary, a concept that has disappeared in the 21st century... the idea that things can change overnight is so far away from our view of the world, where corporations make sure nothing ever changes.

I have the feeling we never got to understand any of those leaders, because all we received in terms of press was how they oppressed/killed tortured etc... all things that any modern western country has done just as well, under the carpet and often away from the limelight.

Whichever view you might have of Castro, he represent a pretty significant piece of history of the second half of the last century.

finchy

Knocked down one authoritarian regime, and immediately installed another. The Cubans were probably slightly better with Castro than other Latin Americans were with their military dictatorships up until the 1980s, but it's a pity that Cuba didn't then get caught in the wave of democratisation.