[Newsbot]

Title: Fidel Castro, the commie hypocrite who lives like a billionaire
Category: World
Posted By: N_Fiddledog
Date: 2014-05-24 12:19:00

[GreenTiger]

He has a lot in common with every other with a bunch of other commie dictators, Kim Jung Un, Robert Mugabe just to name a few.

They call themselves men of the people but the live live this.

[BeaverFever]

So not any different ftom right-wing dictators, except that his government spends significant resources on welfare?

[Public_Domain]

[andyt]

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

So not any different ftom right-wing dictators, except that his government spends significant resources on welfare?

Yeah, but they aren't hypocrites about it, that's what makes it wrong. Well that and coddling the people with excellent healthcare, high literacy rates...

[FieryVulpine]

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

So not any different ftom right-wing dictators, except that his government spends significant resources on welfare?

Ah, I love it when the Left uses moral equivalence to justify their support of Stalinist regimes. I am reasonably certain they spend significant resources on "welfare" provided said recipients are members of the party. If you are one of the proles or a dissident, you are SOL. And, heh, high literacy rates. The much could it does when the government controls communications and practices extensive censorship. I bet Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" is a best-seller in Havana.

At least with Augusto Pinochet, as bad as he was, the Chilean Constitution of 1980 allowed for the 1988 plebiscite that ultimately ousted him from power. Furthermore, the Pinochet regime, presumably under international pressure, allowed for the creation of political parties in 1987. Which is more than could be said for the Castros who have clung onto power with flimsy if not nonexistent popular legitimacy.

On a side note, I wonder who will take power after Fidel and Raul kick the bucket. Are we going to have a Castro dynasty that is marginally saner than the Kims?

[xerxes]

It's already far saner than the Kims of DPRK.

[FieryVulpine]

Well, admittedly the leadership has not passed on from father to bitshit crazy son but give it time and the Castros will join the Kims in the deep end. Though on incongruity I must note is that the cult of personality the Castros enjoy is not based in Cuba but in the United States and Canada among the "progressive" Left.

[fifeboy]

FieryVulpine FieryVulpine:

I must note is that the cult of personality the Castros enjoy is not based in Cuba but in the United States and Canada among the "progressive" Left.

. Just curious, but what do you base this on?

[Gunnair]

Insert Christian for Commie...

[andyt]

huh? I like to insert Christian for Muslim, but not sure what you mean here.

[andyt]

FieryVulpine FieryVulpine:

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

So not any different ftom right-wing dictators, except that his government spends significant resources on welfare?

Ah, I love it when the Left uses moral equivalence to justify their support of Stalinist regimes. I am reasonably certain they spend significant resources on "welfare" provided said recipients are members of the party. If you are one of the proles or a dissident, you are SOL. And, heh, high literacy rates. The much could it does when the government controls communications and practices extensive censorship. I bet Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" is a best-seller in Havana.

At least with Augusto Pinochet, as bad as he was, the Chilean Constitution of 1980 allowed for the 1988 plebiscite that ultimately ousted him from power. Furthermore, the Pinochet regime, presumably under international pressure, allowed for the creation of political parties in 1987. Which is more than could be said for the Castros who have clung onto power with flimsy if not nonexistent popular legitimacy.

On a side note, I wonder who will take power after Fidel and Raul kick the bucket. Are we going to have a Castro dynasty that is marginally saner than the Kims?

You are pretty certain, but can you back it up? Cuba has a higher literacy rate than the US at 99.3% so I guess everybody is a member of the party. Healthcare: lower infant mortality, higher life expectancy, and accessible by everyone. You're just throwing shit out here hoping it sticks.

The US eagerly deals with China and Russia, where human rights abuses are much more egregious than in Cuba. If the US had dropped the embargo, by now the prosperous middle class that would have developed there would have put an end to Castro and dictatorship long ago. Hell, just being flooded with all those rich Yankee tourists would have done it. All to please some numbnuts living in Florida politically.

But keep singing nonsense to yourself.

[FieryVulpine]

fifeboy fifeboy:

Just curious, but what do you base this on?

I admit that was an exaggeration, but Fidel Castro is very popular with generally left-leaning Hollywood celebrities who like to pay him personal visits. Part of my assertion is also a reaction to a fawning Op-Ed Sasha Trudeau wrote in the Toronto Star (big surprise) back in 2006. I do not have a link off-hand, but I recall him calling Fidel "a keen scientific mind" among other words of praise.

Oh, and I enjoy how Andy does not even try to refute the fact that the Cuban government exercises censorship of the media and communications as well as suppress dissent. Oh, I imagine life in Cuba is nice--just as long as you tow the party line and do not say anything critical of the Castros.

EDIT: I found a post on a blog with a copy/paste of said Op-Ed.

[Gunnair]

andyt andyt:

huh? I like to insert Christian for Muslim, but not sure what you mean here.

Commie billionaire/Christian billionaire - things that aren't supposed to be.

[andyt]

Gunnair Gunnair:

andyt andyt:

huh? I like to insert Christian for Muslim, but not sure what you mean here.

Commie billionaire/Christian billionaire - things that aren't supposed to be.

Let's not go there. You're way too radical for me. Jesus had rich friends who were about doing good in the world and sharing heir wealth. Same with the early Christians, whom I admire greatly. They weren't commies, they had rich and poor, but the rich shared. The give up all you have and follow me, I think was a test JC was giving somebody to see their level of commitment. And, IMO, Jesus was a mystic - "The kingdom of heaven is within." That inner way isn't for everybody, it's a hard road. For that you certainly have to give up your attachment to he material world. So I don't think Jesus expected everybody to be poor, just the ones who were really ready to follow him all the way. Essentially itinerant monks, the way committed Buddhists were. But Jesus certainly was about the rich sharing with the poor to alleviate their suffering.

Sorry for the sermon.