Fidel Castro

[Panama Jack]

While I am still not sure of whether Fidel Castro is the best thing going for Cuba, I am absolutely certain that the United States is no "friend" of Cuba either.

I have also drawn the conclusion, based on having visited Cuba and having lived in a number of Latin American countries, that the majority of Cubans are better-off than a majority of other Latin Americans.

Ah, here is one more "US Pet" for your picture collection:



"Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch."-- President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1939)

[Phaedrus]

Here's a thought: US animosity and posture towards Cuba was developed during the cold war era. Now, every sane country except Cuba has rejected communism (or socialism, marxism, whatever you want to call it) except for Castro's Cuba. And it's the people who suffer for your progressive nostalga trips.

Here's to hoping Castro's dead, or will soon be. And cheers to all you 20 year-old losers in your Che Guevera shirts. Many good people have suffered so you can wax proud your social conscience over a drink. Anyone can fudge their literacy statistics, but food is harder to fake.

[2R]

Just another Lawyer in politics .Do not believe the hype they don't
I wonder if he kept his bar fees up to date in New York State .His first real job was a Lawyer in New York.
With any luck he will end his days in a Vatican apartment.Perhaps his last meeting with the Pope was to discuss carpets and curtains

[rotorhead350]

Here's a thought: US animosity and posture towards Cuba was developed during the cold war era. Now, every sane country except Cuba has rejected communism (or socialism, marxism, whatever you want to call it) except for Castro's Cuba. And it's the people who suffer for your progressive nostalga trips.

Here's to hoping Castro's dead, or will soon be. And cheers to all you 20 year-old losers in your Che Guevera shirts. Many good people have suffered so you can wax proud your social conscience over a drink. Anyone can fudge their literacy statistics, but food is harder to fake.

Yeah and Russia today is way better off without Communism. There are definately no people living in the streets, waiting for days in line for food and all that insignifigant crap. Boy did getting rid of communism ever do wonders for organized crime over there as well. I have worked with many ex-russians here in canada over the years, and yeah they say they might be free to do as they please, but they ache for the people left living over there now and all the hardship they have to face. i know more than one who has told me they would be better off today in Russia under the old system.rh350

[MUSKEG]

I find the comment that " the majority of cubans are better of than a majority of latin americans in the us" interesting. Why is it then that there is no one trying to escape to cuba but many many try the other way. Can you please explain their rational for wanting to come to the usa. If communism is so great then why are cuba and china the only countries left imposing it on their citizens.

[2R]

It is interesting that Cuba attended the non-aligned countries summit in Iran .Does that mean that they no longer have the undying support of Russia .Or were they attending as Moscows /Bejing Proxies .

[Jeppesen]

I find the comment that " the majority of cubans are better of than a majority of latin americans in the us" interesting. Why is it then that there is no one trying to escape to cuba but many many try the other way. Can you please explain their rational for wanting to come to the usa. If communism is so great then why are cuba and china the only countries left imposing it on their citizens.

I back up the post of "the majority of Cubans are better of than a majority of Latin Americans"

We at least have free healthcare and a free education. The term free is used because we do not pay taxes in order to get those benefits. People leave Cuba because they want more opportunities and they want to help economically their families that where left behind. They are not leaving because they disagree with Communism.

I want to state it clearly, I'm not a Communist nor did I ever belonged to the UJC (Union of Communist Youths in Cuba), although it was mandatory if you wanted to go University in Cuba. But communism does have things that are good and that I agree with, and the same happens with Capitalism or any other system. Not one of them is perfect or even close to being perfect, they all need fixes and integration from one to another.


The only thing I really wish for, is that Cuba remains an independent country not just another marionette from the US. I want Cuba to prosper economically, without giving up all the good things they managed to accomplish under Communism.

[MUSKEG]

Nothing ever is free. You pay for your health care and education one way or another. You think Castro and his clan are poor like their countrymen? Thats where it breaks down, it's all even for everyone except the rule makers. If they are not leaving because communism sucks then please explain their desire to better themselves. They should be happy where they are right. Everything has it's good points, even death, but don't tell me that taking away your freedoms and priviledges has any benifits. I'll introduce you to my Grandmother who suffered under stalin and you look her in the eye and tell her it really was good.

[Jeppesen]

MUSKEG I never said it was good, what i said is that it has some good things and ideals that I agree with. I like the idea of everybody having the same rights, I like the idea of sharing everything and creating a sustainable development. Something Capitalism is totally against. Can you imagine for a second what can will happen if China, and India had the same amount of cars per capita as the US does? That's just one point out millions of why Capitalism is un-sustainable. Resources one day are going to disappear, nothing is forever, I will love to see what will happen when that day comes.

Look at what is happening now with oil. Look at what some countries are doing just to get their hands on that precious and vital resource to develop. many wars have being fought and will be fought for oil, the same will happen with water and eventually for land.

Not one single communist country has followed the true Communist ideals. They have all turned into dictatorships.

Castro and his countrymen are not so different from Bush, Clinton, Trudeau, Blair. They all have millions and do whatever the hell they want or wanted to do. it's the same dog just different chain.

Like I said they are not leaving because of the system, they leave because as humans, it is never enough. We always want more, more, and more. Once they get to the US they start wanting more than their freedom.They want not one house, they want 2, now they want to be lawyers and make 100k + salaries, they just don't want a car, now they want a bmw, and in a few more years they'll want a ferrari. It's just the way we are.

Some people will agree with me when I said that what's freedom when you have no knowledge. What's freedom when you don't know how to read, when you are an ignorant. Can you say people in Africa are free? can you say that people in Haiti are free just because they are not communist.

You talk about the failure of socialism and communism but where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America?

[Wilbur]

It isn't capitalism vs communism. It's democracy vs dictatorship. Cuba is a shithole - any country you have to escape from is a shithole. Any Cuban who would like to leave is a prisoner of that greedy self serving tyrant who confines them within their borders with the barrel of a gun. Education and healthcare might make it a little more tolerable prison, but one big prison it remains.

[altiplano]

Wilbur -

Are dictatorships OK when they are US-backed?

[Hedley]

They're great when I'm the dictator!

I'm sure 4 out of 5 dentists would agree.

[tipspeed]

Interesting points of view .. here's another.

http://www.macleans.ca/culture/media/ar ... 113_109113

Tip

[Wilbur]

I don't like any kind of dictatorship. However, what does a discussion of Fidel Castro's dictatorship have to do with some other US backed dictator? Are you somehow suggesting that Fidel is an OK guy because some other country somewhere in the world is backing other dictators? The US has backed dictators, therefore Fidel is a swell guy? The US backed Fidel's bad predecessor, therefore Fidel is good?

As I see it, the behaviour of the US has no bearing on an assessment of Fidel. He is what he is, a ruthless dictator who holds the Cuban populace hostage on their island nation. I would say he is even worse than most dictators, because most dictators still permit people to leave the country if they don't like the dictatorship.

[ottawa,kan]

Let me first say to Jeppesen that many many of the people in the united States would love to end the embargo of Cuba. In fact some years ago the senators and congress people from Kansas led an effort to drop the embargo so we could sell massive quantities of our wheat to Cuba. I myself would love to go there for the Caving and the Scuba diving, especially since the Red Sea is off limits to Americans. Heck it's only 90 miles from Key West. That would be a cheap ticket. Cuba remains embargoed because Cubans want it embargoed. What Cubans you say??? Why the ones in Miami of course. Florida is a key electoral college state and single handidly elected Bush the first time ( via the Supremes) and along with Ohio elected Bush the second time too, with Ralph Naders help.Florida Cubans want the embargo. People in the rest of the US don't really care, but it's not likely to be a big issue. Me?? I'm all for getting rid of the embargo. We should have done it years ago, and if we had, Fidel would be gone. He wouldn't survive open relations and hordes of tourists from the US. The embargo keeps Fidel in power. I think Fidel was a tremendous leader for Cuba in his early days. Look at literacy alone, compared to the Batista days before him. Look at health care, longevity, countless other statistics. But like Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, he is long long past his usefullness. He should have stepped aside long ago. Look at 1959 Cuba and compare it to 1959 Mississippi or Georgia. Then look at how far those states have come in the meantime, while Cuba has stagnated. One last point....truly poor people, including latinos, including non- citizen latinos have access to free health care in the United States. You can walk into any emergency room in this country and there will be a big bilingual sign that talks about everyones right to emergency care regardless of ability to pay. Our state provides a health care card for children and pregnant women for free health care outside the ER. It's a little harder to get if your'e a guy. What we don't have of course is Canada's system of free care for everyone. Then again, if I get sick tonight, my doctor will see me tommorow. ( on a saturday, but maybe not on sunday). For a routine test, like say cholesterol or something, I'll get in by the end of the week.

[Jeppesen]

It has nothing to do that's right. Fidel is not an okay guy, but is a choice over many others, at least for me.

You do have to blame the US for still having Fidel in power. They keep on giving him excuses to do the heck he wants to do in Cuba. A good example is the economical embargo. Fidel and his government blames everything on the embargo. The Americans do things to "destroy the Communism in Cuba" but they only give more excuses to Fidel to keep up with his dictatorship. For example, right after the new travel restrictions where in effect, the Cuban government started applying a tax on the American Dollar when you exchange it in Cuba. Currently for 100 USD they will give you 80 Cuban Dollars, when they used to give you 100 Cuban Dollars. Fidel is taking 20 USD for every 100USD people send or bring to Cuba. Nowadays they apply taxes on all currencies not only the USD. Guess what, another excuse to now make more money from all tourists and cubans that send money to their families back home. The bastard is making more money thanks to his friends up north.

The US and their politics against Cuba are also to blame for Fidel's support in the island. Remember Castro is seen as a liberator by many of it's people, specially old people in Cuba that lived when he came to power. He does not allow free travel because he's not stupid, he knows that if he does people will not be coming back. That why restrictions exist even when it comes to having internet or satellite tv. But guess what, Fidel also blames those restrictions on the States.


edit: posted at the same time stinson did. You hit the nail man, the embargo is still on thanks to the Cubans in Miami and they are making lots of money with their propaganda and organizations. WHy is the Us senate listening to them that don't even live in Cuba anymore, instead of listening to the people of Cuba and their government?

[ottawa,kan]

Gosh Jeppesen...now you sound a little like a Miami cuban. Anyway, I agree with your post...the US keeps Fidel in power. More than a little ironic. Someday soon Fidel will die, and I think there will be some sort of rapproachment with Raul. In 20 years, Starbucks and McDonalds will be all over Havana, and the beaches will be covered in huge fat overfed Americans. People will wax nostolgic for the good old days, just like we do here. And Canadians will have no where to vacation without us Usaies. Course with the Canadian dollar so strong, maybe you folks can just come here. It's just like Saskatchewan, only warmer.

[Jeppesen]

Gosh Jeppesen...now you sound a little like a Miami cuban. Anyway, I agree with your post...the US keeps Fidel in power. More than a little ironic. Someday soon Fidel will die, and I think there will be some sort of rapproachment with Raul. In 20 years, Starbucks and McDonalds will be all over Havana, and the beaches will be covered in huge fat overfed Americans. People will wax nostolgic for the good old days, just like we do here. And Canadians will have no where to vacation without us Usaies. Course with the Canadian dollar so strong, maybe you folks can just come here. It's just like Saskatchewan, only warmer.

heheh how can I sound like a Miami Cuban?

Is not that I want Fidel to die, I just want my family to have a better living. I don't really care if it's with Fidel or not. Politics are always dirty. No matter on what system they're based, they are and always be nasty.

I agree with you, I don't want Cuba to return to what it was before Fidel. A paradise for Mafia bosses and people with money. Streets full of prostitutions and stuff. NO off course I don't want that.

And about the re-approach with Raul I don't thing that's likely to happen either.....time will tell but I think that it will mostly be the younger generation of Cubans that might have the biggest saying on where our country will go.

[Panama Jack]

I find the comment that " the majority of cubans are better of than a majority of latin americans in the us" interesting. Why is it then that there is no one trying to escape to cuba but many many try the other way. Can you please explain their rational for wanting to come to the usa. If communism is so great then why are cuba and china the only countries left imposing it on their citizens.

I think your statements show a fundamental misunderstanding of the problems.

ie. "If working conditions at AC Jazz are better than at Mom & Pop's Bush Aviation & Co., then why are so many of Mom & Pop's Bush Aviation & Co. pilots dreaming of going to Westjet or Air Canada?"

The majority of Cubans are better off than the majority of Latin Americans. That is not to say that they are living in nirvana, just that they are better off. Cuba does not suffer from malnutrition, crime, and overall misery to the extent of that in my home country (in Central America). Sure, there are some people who are extrememly well off in Latin America, with several mansions, private helicopters, etc., but that is like saying that Paul Martin is a typical Canadian.

In Latin America, when migration happens, it is mostly due to economic factors. There are a few cases of political persecution cases, but so is also the case by locals from "rich" nations like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, etc., where totalitarian systems are de rigeur but enough money floats around to keep people happy.

Illegal immigrants will pay the underground several times more what you would pay to get a round-trip, business-class ticket to Latin America to be smuggled in old vans and by foot into the United States. If you are going to spend so much money, you aim high. It's called trying to get the best return on investment, and the USA fits the bill.

There are many Cubans who also aim higher (I believe there are also Canadians who aim higher, hence they leave for other countries). The Cuban economy is in a mess, but not always more so than in some other Latin American countries. I mean not number of companies in a country, and whether there are McDonald's and United Colors of Benetton shops in every city, but the standard of living of each person. In Cuba there is a safety net that is absent in most Latin American countries. I mean schooling, programs for youth and the elderly, crime-free society, etc. Yes, there is prostitution in Cuba, and so is there in almost every Latin American country because of the same underlying economic problems.

I think many Canadians will never be able to understand the reality that many Latin Americans can not reasonably hope for more than a future where one has to scratch just to pay the bare necessities, ever hope for honest, efficient government, or a better future for one's children. So happiness comes out of simple things-- a good meal, a laugh with one's friends, a kiss or a hug. Cuba offers a few more things that most Canadians take for granted, that many Latin Americans, sadly, should be able to but cannot.

[Panama Jack]

If communism is so great then why are cuba and china the only countries left imposing it on their citizens.

Sorry, I didn't answer your last question.

First of all, I don't believe that China is communist. If you read the writings of Marx, Lenin, Engels, you will see that the modern Chinese model is hardly an image of these ideals. Probably just as well, because I don't think that Chinese make "good communists," they are probably better as bloodthirsty capitalists, and they could eat the US for lunch and swallow Canada for dessert. Deng Xiaoping brought the Chinese out of the closet by announcing "to get rich is glorious!"

I also believe that if the founding fathers of the United States were still around, they would start another revolution or at least a coup d'etat. The USA has, like so many countries around the world, become a corrupted image of it's former self where a political elite/ the rich form an alliance to pull the strings. Because of the USA's military and economic might, and the goal to keep the power, privledges and wealth in the hands of a selected few, the interests are often very self serving.

A totalitarian government is good when it allows the establishment of US bases and has good diplomatic and trade relations with the USA.

It is very bad though if it criticises hipocritical policies and allies itself with the adversaries or even worse yet, goes a non-allied route, proving that there is a third option. This model must not succeed!

As far as the so-called communist government in Cuba and China, and why it is being "imposed" on it's people, is the same as why after so many years, there is a two-party system in the United States (where there really is no difference between one party or another, so it pretty much becomes a one-party system and most people feel that there is no other option to this game), and why in Canada the Liberals stranglehold the political scene, only briefly punctuated by a Conservative breeze.

The objective of any government, anywhere, in any country of the world, beit Canada, the USA, Cuba, Iran, China, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Mexico . . . name the place, the same phenonemon occurs . . . is to maintain power. In some countries they just have been more successful at it than others. But even in many so-called "democratic" countries, success and meaningful change and progress has been limited.

[Expat]

It seems to me that a lot of ideas expressed here are repetitions of old american cliches from the 50s. In those days, capitalism was Christian, and communism was evil...
In the states, they hunted commies...
That thinking has not evolved in the minds of some people, while the actual situation has changed.
Today's capitalism, unfortunately, is so removed from the people, that it makes communism look good.
The greed of politicians, as well as all business leaders and professionals has reached new heights.
In this election period in the states, it is sad to see that no candidate has a serious platform to tackle rampant corruption, total disregard for the illiterate, the poor, the sick, etc...
Instead, they talk about human right abuses in Korea, China, etc...
What a double talk.
Saying that Cuba is bad because its citizens cannot emigrate is very ignorant and ill-informed.
Canada should also stop its professionals, who got state-funded education, from emigrating south.
Looking back at the communist system, and what is facing some of the formet soviet republics now is sobering. Most were better off before, and owe their industrial and cultural development to the soviet system, which believed in spreading the wealth amongst all republics.
Cuba has difficulties, because it became dependant on aid from the USSR, and this aid has dried.
Israel would also be ugly without US assistance.

[flyinphil]

Yeah and Russia today is way better off without Communism. There are definately no people living in the streets, waiting for days in line for food and all that insignifigant crap. Boy did getting rid of communism ever do wonders for organized crime over there as well. I have worked with many ex-russians here in canada over the years, and yeah they say they might be free to do as they please, but they ache for the people left living over there now and all the hardship they have to face. i know more than one who has told me they would be better off today in Russia under the old system.rh350

Most of what you have stated is correct rh350. The former Soviet states though, are in transition. This will take time and the current generations of Russians will suffer heavily. It must have been a very difficult decision to make. It was however, a decision that was made by those who had nothing to lose.

I am confident that Russia and its people will be just fine in 50 years.

[Panama Jack]

I am confident that Russia and its people will be just fine in 50 years.

That is of course, assuming that people don't get fed-up and have another revolution in 30-years.

I like your quote. Next time I hear someone complain about the way things are in Canada, I will use your quote, only substituting "Canada" for "Russia," of course.

"No hay mal que dure cien años, ni cuerpo que lo resista"

[flyinphil]

I am confident that Russia and its people will be just fine in 50 years.

That is of course, assuming that people don't get fed-up and have another revolution in 30-years.

I like your quote. Next time I hear someone complain about the way things are in Canada, I will use your quote, only substituting "Canada" for "Russia," of course.

"No hay mal que dure cien años, ni cuerpo que lo resista"

Have you been there? There is a lot of resistance, frequent protests, many that want to return to the old ways but the fact remains, this is the forsaken generation in the former Soviet states. 100 years? Who knows but Russia is becoming more and more wealthy. I do believe social programs will improve as the nation prospers.

[Panama Jack]

I have never been to Russia.

Regardless of this, 50 years is a long time in most any country and in world history. Not many people are willing to put up for 50 years without any future guarantees.