Fidel Castro resigns

As Jones rightly pointed out, the US props up dicators, despots, tyrants and thugs on a regular basis--when it serves the U.S government's interests.

So this moral high ground when it comes to Castro is not just hypocritical but it's also plain silly.

 

Jones points this out in his article but it's been a fairly common practice if you're an American.

Fly to Toronto (or wherever in Canuckistan) and catch a flight to Havana from there. Ask the Cuban customs officer NOT to stamp your passport upon arrival.

 

I've been to Kentucky a lot lately, jboy, so I'll warn you right now not to get in an argument with me about the Bluegrass State because I know the FACTS.

Jones, my initial point was that the "Castro is bad, but" remarks were inevitable given the predictability of political threads around here and the anti-American sentiment that always comes to the surface.

Yes, Batista was bad. But Castro was just as bad, and his badness lasted almost a half-century, and likely will leave a legacy of the same for God knows how long. So how about a little perspective? Yes, Cuba is a beautiful country, and, yes, its people were the ones ultimately screwed over by the embargo, in large part because they had a dictator running the country who didn't really give a shit about them, relative health care measures in the Carribean or not. And geopolitics, as you well know, is extremely complicated, so excusing (or just ignoring) the evils of Castro's regime because the U.S. once supported Saddam is ludicrous.

 

I, too, have spoken with people who have been to Cuba (some of them Canadians, even), and their reports were not quite as glowing as Jones'.

I suppose the embargo is a failure in the respect that Castro, et al, can/have used it as an excuse for why conditions there can be so bad.

And the "well, the U.S. props up dictators all the time" excuse is bollocks. Don't justify bad behavior by citing other bad behavior.

 

Why not? That's an argument that's popularly used by the righties on this board every day.

 

In my experience Cubans aren't quite as content as Jones' tends to believe. Cuba was far more developed than the rest of the Caribbean before Castro, sustained some of that development under the Soviets, and collapsed when the Soviets collapsed. They're highly educated relative to the rest of the Caribbean, too. They know what they're missing.

We know a woman who smuggles basics into Cuba on a regular basis (maybe once a month) and we frequently take part and send items to family members living in abject poverty there. Perhaps people don't complain a lot, but I'd suggest that's mostly due to fear.

Cubans are very aware there's a whole world in which they aren't allowed to participate.

 

Speaking of bad behavior ...

 

It's used by the lefties at a ratio of about 30-to-1.

 

'berry is right, of course. It's not Smurf Village down there. There are genuine shortages of some basic staples -- whether that's because of the embargo or Fidel's failings, I have no idea. There isn't enough power, there's a lot of pollution, a lot of the housing is substandard. BUT -- Cubans are better off than most of their Third World brethren, and I stand by that. I have seen much worse shit.

I'll also stand by the fact that if you advertise yourself as the bastion of democracy, you can't pick and choose your fights -- you fight against tyranny and oppression wherever it rears its head, or you shut the hell up. And I believe that the embargo only helped Castro stay in power, the way Reagan used Grenada to unify the country when it needed it. An outside enemy usually dampens dissent within.

 

Pointing out positives in Castro is not "anti-American." Pallister, you are sounding absurd.

The simple facts are on the side of ending the embargo. Look at China. If you can't recognize the improved quality of life and the increasing amount of freedoms there then you are just not paying attention. Things aren't perfect and change takes time. However, the ability to trade with China has sped up a process and put in place the tools for such things to occur.

 

That cracked me up. I'm gonna have the image of Castro as Papa Smurf in my head all day. I suppose Raul would be Brainy.

Pastor, I'll trust your expertise on absurdity.

 

When you make a single cogent point I'll feel humbled. Until then...