A Short History Lesson On Cuba By The New Thinker
The death of Fidel Castro brought public comments of some of the most rightwing nutters living in the U.S. and of some of its best people. Whoever wants to discuss Cuba, its past, present and future, should know some history. Here is a copy of a valuable lesson @The New Thinker aka Ejike gave on Twitter:
Viva Fidel. Your revolutionary courage & your commitment to fighting for the self-determination of the Cuban people will never be forgottenTo truly understand Cuba and in fact the rest of Latin America you need to study the Monroe doctrine in 1823
It's important to note that the US in the early 19th century wasn't strong enough to stop Europe from colonizing Latin America... not yet
That ended in the late 1800s. Look up the Cuban War of Independence where the Cuban people had been whooping the Spanish colonial government
As Cuba was on the verge of liberating itself from Spanish control America intervened in what is shamefully dubbed the Spanish-American war
In 1898 the US intervened in order to "liberate" Cuba frm its humanitarian crisis which was a cover to prevent Cuba frm becoming independent
From 1898 Cuba practically served as an agricultural-colonial plantation for the United States up until Fidel Castro in 1959
In other words, the "Spanish-American war" was really a fight for who got to control Cuba & its resources. America consolidating its empire
I'm not sorry for giving a quick history lesson bc you cannot understand Fidel Castro if you don't understand America as an empire
Fidel Castro with his brilliant use of guerrilla tactics beat the Cuban army over and over again with only a few hundred soldiers
After Fidel Castro overthrew the undemocratic Batista government in 1959, the US in fearing is declining control went berserk!!!
People who talk about Cuba's problems conveniently leave out 58 years of economic blockade, invasion, assassination by the US
Never mind the 630 some assassination attempts made on Fidel Castro the sanctions & absolute terrorism on the Cuban people is reprehensible
The US embargo is literally anything to destroy Cuba's economy. And guess who started this war on Cuba… Your Democratic president JFK
For 9 administrations in a row the US has done everything in its power to destroy Cuba & every time they have failed thanks to Fidel Castro
I don't think there is a country that has been invaded and exposed to more terror by the US in the Western Hemisphere
The literacy rate of Cuba is at 99.8% which is higher than both the US and the UK thanks to Fidel Castro
The infant mortality rate is lower in Cuba than it is in the United States thanks to Fidel Castro
Cuba after being a country in 3rd world conditions now enjoys one of the highest life expectancy's in the world thanks to Fidel Castro
When Nelson Mandela was released one of the first places he went was Havana bc Cuba played one of the biggest roles in ending apartheid
Thanks to Fidel Castro Cuba has the highest ratio of doctors to patients anywhere else in the world in fact Cuba's biggest export is doctors
Thanks to Fidel Castro education in Cuba from kindergarten all the way up to the PhD level is FREE no exceptions
Thanks to Fidel Castro healthcare in Cuba is not a privilege determined by economic status but a human right given to ALL free of charge
Thanks to Fidel Castro, even with the vicious sanctions by the US, Cuba has managed to almost totally eliminate homelessness
To people who want to be critical of Fidel Castro I ask you what would've become of Cuba if the US did not issue its devastating sanctions
The economic strangulation that the US has been engaged in towards Cuba are so SEVERE that they can be considered an act of aggression
The angry Cubans in Florida that you here chastise Fidel Castro are all mysteriously neoliberal capitalists. That should raise red flags
Yes that little socialist island of Cuba has made mistakes but I would've made mistakes too if the US tried to assassinate me over 600 times
Y'all should RT all of these tweets to let everybody know that the US propaganda machine is wrong about Cuba and wrong about Fidel Castro
That Cubans can even provide basic services to its ppl despite being terrorized by the biggest bully in the world 90 miles away...
I love how everybody who is critiquing Fidel Castro sounds just like FOXNews right now. That's great
Trump and Fox News is celebrating the death of Fidel Castro and that still doesn't make people take pause
Every leader who defies US power is deemed a mass murderer and a threat to humanity
Every deficiency in Cuba can seriously be traced back to the economic warfare, subversion, assassination and invasion attempts by the US
Assata Shakur, a courageous revolutionary black woman, was granted political asylum from the US by which country... Cuba
I find it fascinating that the US wants Cuba to know the US is a friend when it still hasn't lifted the embargo
The US embargo has cost Cuba $753.69 billion. Don't forget to mention that when you're talking about the lack of pristine services in Cuba
#FidelCastro overthrew a dictatorship and then was besieged by the strongest military power in the history of the world. Start there
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Posted by b on November 27, 2016 at 11:14 UTC | Permalink
Years ago, the time of the Vietnam war, I thought I would tune in Radio Havana shortwave to hear their propaganda. To my surprise, it was real fair and balanced reporting. In any case, Fidel in Cuba and the dirty business of the US of A are a complex mix. No black and white here. But in any case, the US of A never wanted to let Fidel make a prosperous Cuba. Rest in peace Fidel. You out-lived your enemies by years.
Posted by: meshpal | Nov 27 2016 11:35 utc | 2
I see from the alt-news western establishments are calling Fidel Castro a brutal dictator. If he was such a brutal dictator then where are Cuba's political refugees? I've not heard of any. I don't mean Cuba's economic migrants in Miami etc, whose families owned casinos which laundered mafia money. They're no more political refugees than Richard Branson is a political refugee of Great Britain or Brian Epstein a political refugee of the US.
If political refugees are the hallmark of a dictatorship, we need look no further than Assange in Britain and Snowden in Russia who both seek asylum from US persecution.
Posted by: Mick McNulty | Nov 27 2016 12:24 utc | 3
Ejike, The New Thinker, definitely belongs with MoA on "An initial set of sites that ‘reliably echo Russian propaganda’". The readers of Jeff Bezos' blog have probably already been informed of the fact.
Just an observation: JFK administration did not start until January 1961. The blockade was in place during the Eisenhower administration with John Foster Dulles SoS, and Allen Dulles heading CIA. JFK withdrew support during Bay of Pigs attempted invasion, guaranteeing the Florida immigrants would adhere to conservative Republican party politics. Getting facts correct adds immeasurably to the validity of presentation; sometimes wikipedia can be your friendly reference. Otherwise, quite an encomium of accomplishments under adversarial conditions.
Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Nov 27 2016 12:39 utc | 6
@ 4
Pull your head out of your 'where the sun doesn't shine'
Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Nov 27 2016 12:41 utc | 7
Most of the people who rant against Castro have no clue of who was there before Castro. Same with Iran.
just one exemple
https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1978TEHRAN03654_d.html
Pity they don't use the Wikileaks where there is a lot to read on Cuba, Syria or Iran, before you want to become an advocate of the free-world.
You bet why Assange is fed up with the personality cult, living in a cage for 4 years, when thousands of cables remain un-read, un-translated (the Arabic ones!! a shame), un-analyzed. And the only thing the crowds are asking is a proof of life, when he should be asking them to show some proof they are not brain-dead.
Posted by: Mina | Nov 27 2016 12:47 utc | 8
Thanks for the posting b about Cuban history which so many are ignorant of or chose to ignore, because Manifest Destiny.
While Cuba stands out as a beacon of light next door to the darkness of American empire, let us not forget the rest of South America that the US continues to project its financial domination onto.
For those that have not read The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein, I highly recommended it. As you have come to expect from me, The Shock Doctrine is about the financial war that the US has and continues to fight against South American countries in its projection of empire.
I continue to hope and believe that the geopolitical conflict of present is, at its core, all about the ongoing financial domination by the global plutocrats that have taken over America.
And I firmly believe that those global plutocrats are losing that war and its a when, not if, that they will be overcome and humanity will evolve for the better.....hopefully in what remains of my lifetime so I can see it happen.
Viva Fidel for being the thin edge of the wedge that kept that light shining on the darkness of empire for so long.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Nov 27 2016 12:53 utc | 9
For a comprehensive narrative of Latin America's history, a must read is Eduardo Galeano "Open Veins of Latin America, Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent", ISBN 978-1-84668-742-6.
Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Nov 27 2016 13:12 utc | 10
As with the Monroe doctrine folks should pay attention to the Carter Doctrine to truly understand the originals of "The New American Century".
Posted by: Bakerpete | Nov 27 2016 14:14 utc | 11
well, since it's not on your list, i'll point out again...
that certainly one of the main factors that has helped avert
disaster in Cuba has been its remarkable organic food revolution.
Posted by: john | Nov 27 2016 14:16 utc | 12
Castro was a remarkable man.:)
That said,I would claim the world is a different world than 1953.He was from a different time,and time has moved on,and Cuba has also,witness the opening of the ties between Cuba and the USA.
As a man of that time,yes,he was remarkable indeed,yes,and one should celebrate his courage and leadership,but Communism doesn't fit modern times,at all.
Too much stuff!
Posted by: dahoit | Nov 27 2016 14:40 utc | 13
Is it possible to correct the margins in the comment section. The long, screen-wide sentences are not pleasant to read.
Posted by: Quentin | Nov 27 2016 14:45 utc | 14
OT or just more history lessons
http://www.juancole.com/2016/11/wikileaks-unmask-washingtons.html
Posted by: Mina | Nov 27 2016 14:52 utc | 15
Quentin | Nov 27, 2016 9:45:24 AM | 14
It's easy; just use your bloody ENTER key to start a new line.
Like this, come on, get a grip...
Posted by: V. Arnold | Nov 27 2016 14:56 utc | 16
OT: vote recount was certainly planned as early as zero hour
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2016/live-updates/general-election/real-time-updates-on-the-2016-election-voting-and-race-results/video-podestas-full-statement-to-clinton-supporters/
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/9/13572218/clinton-concession-speech-not-speaking
It was clear when Podesta appeared to say "“I have to say this tonight: goodnight,” Podesta told an emotional crowd. “We will be back, and we will have more to say. Let's get those votes counted, and let's bring this home.”" and that Clinton delayed calling Trump as the usual process have it that a phase 2 was planned. Did they
make a deal with WL for freedom in exchange of not releasing the last batch? could be.
Posted by: Mina | Nov 27 2016 15:04 utc | 17
Just returned from the vacation in Cuba, left on Friday evening before the announcement, where we had been a number of times since 2004. I was born and raised in Yugoslavia which I left before the war of '92. So, I would like to add my 2 cents here. I am concerned that Cuba is today, like Yugoslavia was in 1989, ripe for another color revolution. Most working people over there complain about ridiculously small salaries $25/month ($40 for doctors), lack of buying power and availability of "the crap" other countries enjoy. Employees at the resorts are mostly concerned with a tips and handouts, and they care much less about buildings, vehicles, tools ... which they do not see belonging to them, but rather to the Government. I remember the same attitude people in Yugoslavia had towards common good, and see where all those post YU (jokes of the) countries ended up. Cubans employed in the tourist economy can rent an apartment for nominal price after 5 years of service, and become owner of it after 15 years of service, in a similar way ex-YU operated, but that was not good enough! Same with a free health care and education in both countries. I guess paying mortgage, student and health debts makes people feel good!?
I love very nice and friendly Cuban people (as I loved people of ex-YU), but I am pessimist regarding their future after the (pick a color) revolution. (I hope that I am wrong!)
Posted by: ex-sarajlija | Nov 27 2016 15:08 utc | 18
@13 That's my thinking too. Castro was a man for his times. Most Cubans love and respect him but the new generation is more interested in laptops and toaster ovens than revolution. Raoul will find it very hard to keep the brakes on.
Posted by: dh | Nov 27 2016 15:08 utc | 19
dahoit @ 13 says:
Communism doesn't fit modern times,at all.
Too much stuff
Frank Zappa says:
Communism doesn't work because people like to own stuff
john says:
Capitalism doesn't work because peolpe like to own too much stuff
Posted by: john | Nov 27 2016 15:23 utc | 20
What I find remarkable is how the Cubans have managed to hold it together after the demise of the Soviet collapse. If the Cuban people ever turn their backs on their revolution, despite all the shortages and economic struggling, they need look no further than Jamaica or Haiti to see there future as the Empire tends to seek revenge on those peoples who dare to defy. There is light at the end of the tunnel if they can hold on and out last the crumbling Empire of Usury.
James Douglas in his "JFK and the Unspeakable" makes an excellent case that Kennedy was killed because he was moving to end the cold war and heal relations with both Russia and Castro. I worry about President elect Trump.
Posted by: mad1 | Nov 27 2016 16:00 utc | 23
Cuba history is pretty interesting; Fidel and his compatriots overthrew the Batista regime which was one of the more sleazy and corrupt Latin American dictatorships of its day. In many ways this was similar to the Vietnamese kicking out the French; it really began as a nationalist movement, but faced with the American government trying to re-establish a puppet dictatorship, neither had any real option but to turn to the Soviet Union for support. The U.S. government didn't want to believe that the people of Cuba and Vietnam supported these independence movements (they mostly did, except for the wealthy landowners), so they cooked up idiot plans like the Bay of Pigs. At the same time, JFK, a real military-industrial supporter (despite liberal myths, that's a fact), was placing nuclear missiles in Turkey; after the Bay of Pigs CIA debacle, the USSR began placing nuclear missiles in Cuba, almost sparking WWIII. That was resolved when JFK secretly agreed to get the nuclear missiles out of Turkey, in exchange for the USSR dropping its Cuba missile base plans. From then up till the fall of the Berlin Wall, Cuba was the USSR trading partner and traded agricultural produce for oil. However, when the USSR collapsed, that trade was mostly cut off - and at that point, the U.S. government believed its blockade and embargo could be used to force regime change in Cuba. However, the Cuban people all rallied; they had to abandon indusrtrialized agriculture due to lack of Soviet oil and went back to more primitive agricultural production, surviving a very tough ten-year period, but maintaining essentials like public health care and other services. They were rescued to some extent by Venezuela's trade deals organized by Chavez, and also implemented small-scale market reforms (allowing Cubans to sell their produce at farmer's markets for personal income, basically) that greatly helped their local economies. Their current economic model is best described as mixed socialism/capitalism, maintaining a large public sector for services with small local markets, which is not a bad model. If the US embargo (ships which call at Cuban ports are currently banned from calling at US ports, making trade difficult) was lifted, the economic situation would vastly improve. Interestingly Trump said at the beginning of his campaign that he was open to lifting the embargo so that should be interesting to see how it plays out.
All in all, Fidel Castro did a pretty good job for his country, and the proof is that if you look at the standard of living and conditions for average people in places like Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, etc. it's easy to see that life was better for the Cuban people than in any of those other places, which still held onto the old artistocratic wealth vs. peasantry models of the previous century.
Posted by: nonsensefactory | Nov 27 2016 16:02 utc | 24
If you go to Breitbart, where Trump's base converge, you will see comment after comment lambasting Castro and mild to ambiguous eulogies made by both Trudeau and Obama, and I'm not a fan of either of those leaders. Here's the thing; these same bloggers who support Trump will turn on Putin on a dime because they're like sheep incapable of independent thinking. Trump's own stupid comments on Cuba make me mistrust him in regards to the policy he'll adopt towards Putin and Russia. It's like I wrote on the other thread; Trump personifies American hubris and you just can't trust someone like that to do what's sensible and right.
Even before the Zionist-authored PNAC plan and Clean Break, the U.S. was already in the business of neutralizing whichever country challenged the American system, or tried to expose it as corrupt and immoral. America and more recently through the CIA has been in the business of regime change for a long time (examples: Philippines, Korea, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, Haiti, Chile, and later with Zionist influence: Iran, Palestinian Territories i.e. Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan and meddled in Lebanon, Egypt and Venezuela more than once and even in Russia and of course Cuba). I'm sure I left some out, but no matter. So Zionists had no problem attaching themselves to the American political system as Zionist Neoconservative strategy is but a natural evolutionary stage of American hubris. For this reason, no candidate to the U.S. Presidency from either of the two interchangeable parties that monopolize the American political system can ever be trusted and for that matter neither can the brainwashed American masses who always vote against their best interests, and have a hard time thinking for themselves without the Zionist media feeding tube connecting to their brain (I'm referring to the majority of registered voters). The only hope would come from an Independent third party and its candidate for President and the minority of Americans who are drowned out by the majority. So I’m not ruling out that another major war will break out either with Iran, Russia, or both with other parties involved. And even if Trump had a different perception on foreign, which I suspect he doesn’t, imagine the pressure bearing down on him or any other candidate in future from the Zionist Lobby and in essence what Ron Paul refers to as the deep state or shadow government which exerts pressure through the Lobby, think tanks and the media.
So if we look at Trump in a historical context, if we consider that he suffers from the hubris disease that afflicts most Americans, we can almost predict what a Trump presidency will look like. So again, I have only to go to the web site where many in Trump's base hang out to understand that there is no hope for change in foreign policy with this administration or any administration governed by either of the two parties that monopolize the political system.
Nothing's going to change and if it does it will only be for the worse and mostly it's because Americans don't want anything to change; because they're in the upper caste of the empire even though they're really slaves of the 1% like everyone else.
Trump's comments on Castro's passing flaunt his ignorance and total commitment to America’s ongoing imperial expansion.
Posted by: Circe | Nov 27 2016 16:17 utc | 25
http://www.tomatobubble.com/teddy_roosevelt.html
Teddy Roosevelt - American Psycho.
You wonder how Bush dynasty,Clinton Dyn,Barky - Drone them all - Obama,
How such deranged person's attain power and deceive,
The Answer is Empire....Empire Agenda.
Posted by: Brad | Nov 27 2016 16:20 utc | 26
@23
All in all, Fidel Castro did a pretty good job for his country, and the proof is that if you look at the standard of living and conditions for average people in places like Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, etc. it's easy to see that life was better for the Cuban people than in any of those other places, which still held onto the old artistocratic wealth vs. peasantry models of the previous century.
True, but try getting the herd to see that fact with the media blinders Americans sheepishly put on.
Posted by: Circe | Nov 27 2016 16:24 utc | 27
After learning of Castro's death yesterday morning, I cried because the dreams that I had of him not living past the age of 90 came to pass. Everyone growing up in the islands from Trinidad to Jamaica knew of Castro (the real story)and his fight against colonialism/imperialism. It amazes me how
unknowledged (because someone has an education does not mean they have knowledge) a majority of Americans are about the rest of the world and even their own country. I still remember having to read the book written by Eric Williams "From Columbus to Castro" in high school regarding the destruction of the West Indies after Columbus's "discovery" and ending with the Cuban revolution. Imagine being at the bottom of a list for literacy amongst Spanish speaking countries and turning it around and remaining at the top for years. Imagine having the most doctors graduate from medical school (all education are free. At the end of the medical training, Castro only asks that they return to their country and help the poor while also still earning a living) knowing how to deal with everything from knife wounds to fevers except for gunshots because it's not as much as a problem on the island. Imagine finding a cure for cancer (I believe it's lung cancer). Imagine not having all the health problems that affect Americans. And lastly, imagine doing all these things and more with not even a 1/8 of the money spent in the US. I have not even mentioned all the other things he has done. Castro was not perfect but one thing he did was fight damn hard to protect his country and people from US and the globalist. And believe me those vampires are in for a shock when they realize the revolution never ended. Fire burns always.
Posted by: NewYorker | Nov 27 2016 17:02 utc | 28
@19
Ergo, the empire's squeeze to incite a Cuban stampede to capitalism.
If Cuban's feel deprived; Gazans have it much worse. At least Cubans are patronized instead of demonized in the media as Gazans are. Collective punishment used as a political tool should be condemned vigorously with sanctions at the U.N. Wait, my bad, the U.N. is but a satellite of the Anglo/Zionist empire's global propaganda machine.
Posted by: Circe | Nov 27 2016 17:09 utc | 29
thanks b... i echo @1 v arnolds comment and am amazed at some of the ignorance by posters at moa..
folks could do well to open @12 johns link for more insight on what a hopeless place the usa takes up in relation to cuba.. cuba comes across as a giant of integrity and self sufficiency, while the usa portrays itself as hostile and ethically decrepit.
@13 dahoit.. why is it an alternative system is such a threat to american centric thinkers? capitalism is killing the planet.. the pollution, increasing wars, destruction of wildlife, plant life and all life is on display for all to see and yet americans think capitalism is just so great.. any society that tries to build community only to have it raped and pillaged by corporations, while claiming to embrace such a sickness - is on it's way out.. whether we survive late capitalism, or the whole planet perishes - if this is what is so great about capitalism, give me something different! you have been making a lot of crazy comments here and on the previous thread..
@20 john.. capitalism doesn't work becuase it's not for the people.. it's for corporations.. they are doing fine while the people are reaping a destroyed planet.. corporations unlike people - don't have to answer to any of it either..
@24 circe. i tend to agree rather strongly with your first paragraph, although i don't visit sites like breitbart, so my comment is qualified.. reading your whole post - good comments - thanks.
Posted by: james | Nov 27 2016 17:11 utc | 30
The people of Cambodia are a warning for Cubans. Cambodians live under a former Pol Pot leader, now the Prime Minister for Life, who brutally cracks down on any dissent and murders in broad daylight populist figures speaking out against his mafia cabal, linked at the hip with the Chinese merchantalist invaders who are flooding Phnom Pen with hot R/E. Nothing could highlight this better than Chinese expats in their SUVs just driving right over Cambodia pedestrians or scooter riders, then keeping on going, roadkill, or the horrific trade deals being made that have no benefit to the people and only serve to rapidly increase their rent, food and gasoline costs. I mean, these folks drive their scooters around with a plastic bag of gasoline in case they didn't calculate how long it is to work in the endless commute, and their idea of food is a bowl of hot ramen from some street vendor. I was in a shop, and they all ran out in the street to buy barbecued chicken intestines from a passing village lady with a hibachi on her head! (actually quite delicious). Cambodians are so gracious even while they are being raped by their leaders and the Chinese, ...yet the younger ones all want the bling, the new motobike, the latest HTC phone, the fancy wedding in a tent that their parents give up their life savings to provide, the few who hold actual legal title to their lands have to sell and then rent. When I had a chance, I asked a tuk-tuk driver how much it cost to buy in: 50% down, remember this is a new Japanese motobike priced in Yen, then 50% after the first year, then 50% balloon payment to the loan shark the end of the second year! 150% interest loan rate, and all priced in Yen! But everyone is all about business deals and flipping R/E, because you only have to take a look at the tragic tin-shack ghettos lining the rail lines or the raw sewage lagoons to see what the alternative is.
"People will remain willfully blind to the red, white and blue dick being shoved up their ass every day by the Great Big Club. And you ain't in it. You and I are not in it."
Yet, if you show Americans video of how Cambodians are forced to live by the same mafia cabals that rule Americans, Americans will say the Cambodians are 'ignorant monkeys'. Their Cult of Exceptionalism and Church of the Red and the Blue Koolaid have inured Americans to their government's crimes against humanity, that soon will be against them, once the bubble pops and the Great Reset begins. Everyone has already forgotten 2000 Dot.Con and 2003 AQ.Con, 2008 Mortgage.Con and 2011 QEn.Con. Ignorant American monkeys.
Posted by: chipnik | Nov 27 2016 17:45 utc | 31
james
if capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit, then there are plenty of examples of it working for people. it's capital accumulation and monopoly that throws life out of kilter.
of course that's putting it all in a nutshell.
Posted by: john | Nov 27 2016 18:15 utc | 32
30
If you re-arrange your endpapers timeline as OilforFood.Con resulting in AQforOilProfits.Con three years later, and SCDO.Con that resulted in QEn.Con three years later, then notice that each series begins with a new political party presidential regime every 8 years, I'm sure everyone senses that 2016 will be 'something horrific' under The Donald, and within 3 years an even more horrific back side of that con taking place. Maybe this is their con? Maybe it's 2016 DonaldasPOTUS.Con and 2019 PatRobertsonasSoS.Con, lol.
It's got to be global significance, and has to be finance-related, not personality-related, but hidden in some shiny-object. Big personalities and wars are just symptomatic.
How about this one: 2016 IndiaCurrency.Con and 2019 UnlimitedH1BtoUSA.Con, all hidden under 'World Wide Caliphate' shiny-object and an IDIQNB National SS Police State DHS?
If Modi gets the India Intelligentsia to migrate to USA, he can privatize India, and help MicroSoft, Oracle, Amazon and all the other (India)n-programmed companies keep a
lid on The Donald's immigrant rant, while buying up the still upside-down housing inventory, to offset WSs upside down fracking loans, used-car loans and student loans.
That's my vote: Massive Gang of Eight Hindu H1B influx into USA, while The Donald keeps everyone chattering about Iran, as Modi privatizes what's left of India to The Queen.
R/E prices in US soaring along with R/E prices in every country where China is flooding their hot money. Wall Street saved. One Party of Mil.Gov.Fed saved by higher property taxes and capital gains on all the poor flipping smucks who can't spell 'REIT', and a big warm wet sop to DoD-DHS and the Blue Team for the Greater Israel Grand Chess Game.
How's that sound? And Cuban expats pouring into West Palm, along with all the Hindus flooding into Silicon Valley, so the East Coast Elites have maids, nannys and lawn boys?
Posted by: TheRealDonald | Nov 27 2016 18:21 utc | 33
Cuba's on its way out. The Castros must have seen the writing on the wall and are aiming for a moderate transition to a capitalist society. Once the cubans get the bill (and are forced by personal circumstances to kiss Cuba goodbye), it will be to make way for all the rich expats seeking a retirement home
Posted by: aaaa | Nov 27 2016 20:13 utc | 34
35
"... it will be make way for all the rich Wall Street moguls seeking a hot-money condo-flipping snowbird timeshare." Think that's a more accurate assessment.
Most of the Cuban beaches will remain deserted except for fake calypso dancers, bar boys and call girls, behind an exceptional white wall of empty condo towers.
Posted by: chipnik | Nov 27 2016 20:42 utc | 35
@33 john.. i guess i am speaking generally.. obviously in the past, the system was working very well for whoever the king or queen were.. today they have been replaced by corporations.. yes, it is working for some, including the shareholders of these same corps - essentially everyone holding some mutual fund, or pension - all generally run by big financial corps as well.. what isn't working is fairly obvious to most folks at this point in time as i see it, and i blame it on ourselves.. we are the ones who are going to change it and it won't be by hoping something is going to change when we continue to do the same things we do - putting money into stocks, bonds or whatever without any thought for what it means, other then profit - as a good example here.. if everything is about profit and nothing is about quality of life for everyone on the planet, including the animals and plants - then capitalism is working just fine.. if on the other hand it is about more then profit put into the hands of fewer and fewer people, then capitalism clearly isn't working for us.
Posted by: james | Nov 27 2016 20:43 utc | 36
james
yes james, yours is the bottom line...
...capitalism clearly isn't working for us
Posted by: john | Nov 27 2016 21:02 utc | 37
@ chipnik who said that the "rich" Chinese are as bad or worse than Americans.
There go my delusions of structural change led by the Chinese......I am glad to be old and didn't make any kids to have to explain this to.
Thanks, I think, for the perspective. Maybe it will be good for our species to go extinct. The Cosmos won't even burp.
@ james & john who seem to agree: ."..capitalism clearly isn't working for us"
Capitalism does not exist except as a fig leaf myth for decisions made by global plutocrats. What does exist is private finance and unfettered inheritance. If you try and make capitalism work for us, you will fail. But if you end private finance and only allow totally sovereign finance, I believe there is a chance to make a better world.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Nov 27 2016 21:39 utc | 38
James @ 37:
"... if capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit, then there are plenty of examples of it working for people ..."
You should try reading all you can about the Mondragon Corporation which grew out of a technical college founded by a Spanish Catholic priest in the Basque region in northern Spain. Mondragon is an excellent example of a corporation that developed out of worker co-operatives.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation#Reactions
This research paper came up during a Google search which might interest MoA readers:
Claudia Sanchez Bajo and Bruno Roelants, "Capital and the Debt Trap: Learning from cooperatives in the global crisis"
https://www.amazon.com/Capital-Debt-Trap-Learning-Cooperatives/dp/0230252389
Apart from Mondragon, there are not too many examples of capitalism working for most people unless they resemble socialist or social democratic examples so much that they virtually are what they resemble.
As for the word "monopoly" tossed casually into comment #33 the way it was, you can take that to mean a supposed government monopoly and the sentence itself to be an attack on economic systems different from capitalism.
Posted by: Jen | Nov 27 2016 22:20 utc | 39
"... I don't think there is a country that has been invaded and exposed to more terror by the US in the Western Hemisphere ..."
The more I read about Haiti, its history and forced underdevelopment, the more I think Haitians have been exposed to far more invasion and terror from the US (and France as well) than Cuba, and that is saying a great deal when you consider Operation Condor at its worst in South America over 20 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Condor
Posted by: Jen | Nov 27 2016 22:25 utc | 40
When you tote up Castro's lifetime achievements vs. any US president in his time, Castro is the clear winner. Literacy, lack of poverty, lack of hunger, strong education, strong medical system--we don't have any of those things in the US despite a per-person GDP that is waaaaaaay higher.
Posted by: WorldBLee | Nov 28 2016 1:47 utc | 41
@38 john.. thanks yes.. it is the 'us' or 'we' part i would like to focus on too..
@39 psychohistorian.. i can pretty much agree with your viewpoint here as well.. it seems like a big ponzi scheme with those who cornered the market first destroying anyone else who might want to get a foot in.. well, they definitely destroy communities, small and not so small.. in so far as we are concerned about the communities that people like in, as opposed to the ones where people are being forced to relocate to - the cities generally - none of it is really working for people.
@41 jen.. thanks.. i was unfamiliar with this corporation - mondragon.. it is a start.. i still feel small is the place to start and that in so far as i can support my local businesses, eat locally and support the local people in the community i live in, that the community i live in will be a better place... this means initially shutting the door on outsiders and the concept of globalization.. companies spreading themselves out over long distances also favours the continued use of fossil fuel, which is killing our planet.. we need to be self sufficient in the communities we live in, not dependent on others, or only after we have been able to support the people who live in our communities.. when i can get away from using a car, or having "WHAT I NEED" shipped to me via transportation lines depend on fossil fuel, i feel like i am doing my small part.. it ain't easy and i am like everyone else trying to get by circa 2016.. mondragon is a step in the right direction coming from the wrong end as i see it - the end being 'corporations are where it is at' - is what i mean by that..
Posted by: james | Nov 28 2016 1:54 utc | 42
@ 24: Good synopsis!
Circe @ 25: Also, good take, plus, I agree with this quote..
"Trump's comments on Castro's passing flaunt his ignorance and total commitment to America’s ongoing imperial expansion."
Bingo, everything points in that direction. Trump , I doubt, will rock the boat. He'll go along to get along, and become even richer.
Posted by: ben | Nov 28 2016 1:56 utc | 43
The reason why the Anglo Americans are hostile to Cuba (or any other country that they demonize) is not fundamentally because of ignorance.
Rather, it's because they cannot tolerate any nation that stands against their global empire.
Indeed, the very standard of living of America and the advanced imperial "democracies" in general is based upon ruthless exploitation, which is maintained by their empire.
In order to continue their jealously guarded way of life, the imperial democracies must necessarily enforce a system of global exploitation, of which they are the prime beneficiaries. This includes not only Anglo American ruling elites but also the Middle Class and Working Class, who are given a cut of the spoils of empire.
Any country that even slightly challenges this system (like Cuba) is perceived by the Americans, Anglosphere states, and other First World nations as a mortal threat to their oh-so precious wealth, privilege, and way of life.
Freedom, Democracy, Human Rights are merely *civilizational lies* that the imperial democracies led by the Anglo Americans hide behind to disguise their rapacious character.
This is an issue that very few people in the West or Anglosphere want to touch--whether they be mainstream or "alternative" in political views--as it delegitimizes their own personal standard of living, privilege, and wealth.
To top it off, the Anglo Americans believe they have a God-given right to sit in moral judgment of others--even as they loot and pillage the entire world!
Such is the arrogance of a parasitic people who suffer from a pathological case of moral self-righteousness.
Class Struggle in the Parasite States
https://anti-imperialism.org/2016/06/28/class-struggle-in-the-parasite-states/?relatedposts_hit=1&relatedposts_origin=9632&relatedposts_position=2
Toward a Concrete Class Analysis of the United States
https://anti-imperialism.org/2013/10/29/toward-a-concrete-class-analysis-of-the-united-states/
Posted by: Third Worldism | Nov 28 2016 1:59 utc | 44
Jen @ 40: Thanks for the Mondragon links. Seems better than 100% Capitalism. Anyway, maybe a beginning
to interjecting a bit of democracy into the workplace besides Unionism.
Posted by: ben | Nov 28 2016 2:03 utc | 45
Now that organized Communism has been revealed, mainly since the fall of the USSR in the late 1980s/early 1990s, to be simply a very well-hidden mechanism of total social control by a small group of paranoid, megalomaniacal “control freaks,” the People are waking up to realize that they really do not want to have every single aspect of their lives, their families, or their friends’ dominated, manipulated, harassed, intimidated, threatened, or micro-managed by a small cabal group of psychotic plutocratic warmongering freaks, who consistently maintain one set of rules and morals for themselves, and another set for others.
Posted by: OldManofMilo | Nov 28 2016 2:17 utc | 46
@47 OldManofMilo quote " the People are waking up to realize that they really do not want to have every single aspect of their lives, their families, or their friends’ dominated, manipulated, harassed, intimidated, threatened, or micro-managed by a small cabal group of psychotic plutocratic warmongering freaks, who consistently maintain one set of rules and morals for themselves, and another set for others."
are you talking about the usa today? sounds like nsa, cia, fbi, google snooping and etc etc. that is going on 24/7 in the usa - and indeed run by a small cabal group of psychotic plutocratic warmongering freaks. i will give you that!
Posted by: james | Nov 28 2016 2:30 utc | 47
After Fidel Castro, Cuba is in danger again with the GOP ultra right-wing from Florida (Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, the latests warmongerings in Congress). Hard times ahead for Raúl and the revolution. ¡Hasta la victoria siempre!
Posted by: guy | Nov 28 2016 4:45 utc | 48
Still what do u make of these?
http://aanirfan.blogspot.ro/2016/11/the-real-fidel-castro.html
http://mileswmathis.com/castro.pdf
Posted by: xyz | Nov 28 2016 9:15 utc | 49
Jen @ 40 says:
As for the word "monopoly" tossed casually into comment #33 the way it was, you can take that to mean a supposed government monopoly and the sentence itself to be an attack on economic systems different from capitalism
ah yes, another binary thinker, and a presumptuous one as well, and learn to look a person 'in the eye' when you address him/her.
james @ 43 says:
...i can support my local businesses, eat locally and support the local people in the community i live in...
yeah james, i live this way, too, but exactly what economic system are all these local businesses and people adherents of?
Posted by: john | Nov 28 2016 10:54 utc | 50
OT: what's wrong with the MSM when it comes to Africa? they can't find flights?
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/250941/World/International/Silent-victims-of-violence--million-kids-orphaned-.aspx
Posted by: Mina | Nov 28 2016 11:23 utc | 51
And this one either:
http://stevepieczenik.com/fidel-is-finally-dead/
Posted by: xyz | Nov 28 2016 12:00 utc | 52
30;I try to deal in reality;The Cuban people are just like any other,they want stuff.
My biggest knock on the Castros;After 60 years,they couldn't come up with alternative young leadership?That signifies a lack of support by the population,and also re-enforces they were dictators.
And would this site,or Counterpunch,or anti-regime and any other alleged truth site be allowed there?Like you are allowed in america?
Again,as an American,Cuba aint my business or call,but one can point out failures.
Posted by: dahoit | Nov 28 2016 13:55 utc | 53
@54 Why change leaders? All it took for USSR was for Gorbachev to be a colossal failure and it was over for the whole regime. For USA,even an atrocious leader can't mess up the system, because capitalism can essentially bullshit its way through.
Obviously capitalism will continue to cause societal and ecological devastation until some bitter dramatic ending is achieved, but in the meantime people will continue to have the 'choice' to buy stuff and earn money, and those with no money will just be ignored and will live quietly guilty as economic failures
Posted by: aaaa | Nov 28 2016 14:51 utc | 54
@51 john.. re your question - i suppose everything can be broken down on either capitalism or socialism/communism.. is that where we are going with the conversation? i don't think small local businesses are the same are large multinational corporations.. i would like to make a distinction by starting here..
@54 dahoit.. 'people want stuff'.. but people don't live by 'stuff' alone.. i will agree with you that cubans are no different then people anywhere, although they are and have been subject to a different set of circumstances which make them unique... personally i think it is more the multinational corps of the world that want to gut cuba and give them there 'stuff'.. i think many people are hip to who is getting wazooed in it all too, especially cubans under the leadership of castro.. sorry, i am buying your generalizations - and you probably don't buy mine! ps - i am a canuck, not an usa'r..
Posted by: james | Nov 28 2016 16:34 utc | 55
By all press accounts in the US Fidel is/was a brutal dictator.
Visit Havana.
Visit Chicago south side.
The people who Castro and his companeros threw out of Cuba run Chicago.
Posted by: ALberto | Nov 28 2016 16:57 utc | 58
While millions around the world grieve, it’s a sad testament to see some of the disparaging remarks being made by lefty liberal armchair warriors, the gate keepers for American imperialism, about Castro’s unfortunate death.
As George Galloway has just said on RT "The dogs can dance away on Castro the Lion’s grave all they want, but they can never be a lion.”
For all those with any heart and a brain, Castro will be remembered as a revolutionary Hero and one of the 20 first centuries greatest fighters against American imperialism to the very end of his long life (despite some 689 attempts by the CIA to assassinate him) as a great world leader that tirelessly fought for social justice and universal peace for all mankind.
As evidenced by what he and his people did to make Cuba the beacon of hope for freedom for all the people of central and south America as well as Africa and the rest of the world.
By bringing the educational level of all Cubans up from 2% to some 92% in less than a decade. Providing universal free health care to everyone and training more nurses and doctors to be dispersed around the world than any other nation. Sending soldiers to Angola and helping Nelson Mandela defeat apartheid in South Africa. Just to mention a few of all of his many accomplishments while under the most severe sanctions and embargo’s for over the last 50 years.
I believe that the only reason, (after the Bay of Pigs invasion fiasco), that the US has never used their own troops to try and invade, occupy and crush the small Caribbean island again, is because they knew full well that the armed Cuban people would defend their revolution and country and fight house to house to the last man. Fighting for freedom and survival just as the Syrians have been doing to resist the imperial empires proxy ISIS mercenary terrorists for the last half decade in the middle east.
I once had the privileged occasion to visit Cuba myself and witness first hand the state of it’s people. If the heart and soul of a nation can be measured by how well it takes care of it’s young children, then Cuba gets a Five Star Gold Medal Award. As all the children I met in the streets were smiling and happy, healthy and robust. Cuba by the way has a far lower infant mortality rate than that of the ("medically high tec") US of A and sends nurse’s there to train for free, the countless disadvantaged and poor student nurses of Harlem New York and in many other depressed and impoverished areas of the crumbling American empire.
The old Cuban cities like Havana (declared a UNESCO world heritage site) and it’s quaint countryside is a treat to the eye, bereft of all signs of crass commercialism with no advertising billboards or bright flashing neon lit signs anywhere.
Touring the countryside. I encountered a very old Cuban homestead farmer high up in the mountains, happily attending his one single cow, a little vegetable garden patch and a few half wild coffee bean bushes scattered randomly around the trail (who would not give their first born to escape the western capitalist rat race for that) while hiking to a natural pristine water falls in the tropical island jungle.
A site to behold was my visit to a little (once slave) village town called Trinidad, with it’s red clay tiled roofs, white stucco brick buildings and fancy black wrought iron worked doors and windows, along narrow winding stone paved streets leading up to the towns markets and it’s cathedral, it was like an 18th century movie set and the epiphany of the virgin Mary (at least as yet) not corrupted by crude capitalist mercantile commercialism.
I met some brave American tourists there as well, having illegally entered Cuba by sleuth and by way of Canada or Mexico they were both a bit apprehensive and thrilled as well that they had managed to defy their own governments arbitrary dictates and restrictions for Americans to travel and vacation in it’s enemies territory of the strictly sanctioned and embargoed dictator Castro’s oppressive communist regime state of dreaded Cuba.
While naturally Cuba’s own infrastructure is in wont of repair and needs upgrade, all of it’s streets were clean as a whistle and residential houses kept up to at least a minimal level of repair. No decaying ghettos with graffiti and stinking trash piling up high, gaunt half starved ragged beggars wondering around looking for handouts and homeless people sleeping on the streets as you can see in all major US cities and their starving neo liberal economic colonies in Central and South America.
And what an ingenious bunch, keeping old 1956 Chevrolet’s and Pontiac’s going for over 50 years now with home made garage machined replacement parts and in some cases even refitting them with diesel tractor engines. While fleets of old patched up and together round brown nosed city buses donated by Montreal transit from Quebec Canada, ply the streets as if from another distant past era.
I had a black Cuban guy all over me after he learned I was a Canadian, singing in praise of Canada and our past Prime Minister for giving the middle finger to the US and continuing to do businesses with them nevertheless and cursing the US. It was hard for me to try and tell him that that was in the past as now we have only US Quisling Prime Ministers left.
While not rich in consumer goods as is we in the west, and while many would like to enjoy more of all the luxuries that we here just take for granted, Cubans appear to be a dignified and a proud people of their own country and turn their attention on to family, community and building their own country up as best they can under meager circumstances, a herculean task if ever, given the war of US sanctions and propaganda waged against them for over the last half century.
While the Miami Cuban exile crowds are now dancing in the streets over Castro’s death, (dreaming about getting their pre 50 D’s plantations, brothels and casinos back) and the MSM is making a demon out of “the cruel dictator” Castro again, all Cuban’s and countless around the world sadly mourn the passing of one of the worlds greatest leaders of the last century for the cause of universal freedom, dignity, justice and peace.
I can only pity and pray for all those morally and spiritually empty poor souls who lack any real comprehension of what serves their own and all of humanities best interests.
My sincere condolences to Castro’s family, his personal friends and comrades and all of the Cuban people as well as the rest of humanity.
Long live the Cuban revolution and may we now pick up the mantle of Castro’s life’s work and dreams and continue the fight to realize a just and peaceful world.
And may he now rest in peace, assured he has inspired the following generations to act just as courageously, decisively and wisely.
Raymond
Posted by: RayB | Nov 28 2016 18:36 utc | 59
james @ 56 says:
i don't think small local businesses are the same are large multinational corporations
well, yeah, i think that's my only point. we can distinguish between small c capitalism and big C Capitalism.
Posted by: john | Nov 28 2016 18:51 utc | 60
another news story that decimates the myth of "liberal media". i was up watching telly when the news first came down and CNN immediately and repeatedly went to the prick whiners in florida celebrating in the street. as you said, these pieces of garbage are pretty much the same as the oligarchs exiled by putin: just pissed they can't have their neoliberal playground, casinos and underaged prostitutes like in the good ol' batista days. between them and the pro-israel zealot retirees (the wasserman-schultz demographic) i wish that hellhole would just break off and float away.
and for anyone still buying into the tired "canada is a leftist paradise" myth, check out the horribly embarrassing and screeching reaction to PM eaubama's tepid words of condolence. you'd think he dug up stalin and frenched his corpse from the insane spasms of righteous indignation on the "left" and right (the "left" being roughly the same as in the US; bootlicking corporate toadies who want to dismantle health care slightly less than the tories).
Posted by: the pair | Nov 28 2016 20:55 utc | 62
Castro the Revolutionary did a fine job of ousting the American Casino, Narco and Whore Monger Mafia.
Castro did well for the common people of Cuba. He made their lives better.
There are Cuban medical breakthroughs that we do not know about.
But Castro the Revolutionary expropriated Private Properties from the upper class Cuban People. Did he not?
Surely these people - many living in Miami - have a reason to be pissed off.
Though they think they do - because of television - the average white American has no dog in the fight.
Posted by: fast freddy | Nov 28 2016 23:48 utc | 63
Castro was rightly skeptical of normalization of relations with the U.S. He was critical of Obama's visit to Cuba and he was right! One only has to look at how Obama reacted to Raul Castro's spontaneous gesture of lifting Obama's arm in the air and Obama spurning that gesture by making a limp arm and weak hand gesture that was so vulgar and sleazy and demonstrated how hollow and condescending this so-called thawing of relations really is on the American side, and whatever cheap, lop-sided agreement the U.S. is offering Cuba is underscored by bad faith.
Castro was right to criticize this visit. He had great insight and instinct when it came to U.S. intentions. Putin should take note of Castro's well-placed skepticism and should question why the U.S. was so bothered and threatened by the leader of a tiny Caribbean island. This is the kind of power that Castro wielded against the U.S. without even the arsenal that Russia has at its disposal. Putin needs to cultivate the power behind Castro's persona. Of course I'm not saying he should emulate Castro's intense expression, but the integrity, spirit and audacity that drove his resistance against the imperial bully.
There are other countries where much worse political repression exists that did not get under the skin of Americans like Cuba and Castro has. I mean in Israel they kidnap children, put them prison and then throw away the key and the U.S. never says boo! about it. In Egypt the junta trumped up charges against Morsi and has prisons full of political prisoners and activists and the junta gets over a billion a year from the empire. Same goes with Bahrain. So why was the empire so disturbed with a tiny island in the Caribbean for so long?
Just think of it; Castro had an almost legendary aura while still living. You just don't confront someone with that kind of presence every day. I'm just saying that there's something there to study and cultivate. We need another figure like that to get in the empire's face; but one that has the land mass, the nuclear deterrence and who commands authority that the U.S. has no option, but to respect. Yes, Putin is clever, and he out-foxed the U.S. in Syria, but it's not enough. I want to see him face down the empire in a way we've never seen anyone do before; with fewer words than Castro of course, but with a presence that commands respect and I think Putin can do this by fudging the empire's plan to invade Iran. Iran is a very juicy target for the empire right now with all its yet untapped gas reserves. If Putin outfoxes the U.S. and Israel on their plan to invade Iran; it's game over for the empire. All roads have been leading to Iran, especially Baghdad and Damascus and Trump is stacking his cabinet with Generals who hate Iran, Flynn and Mattis and today he met with Petraeus and his CIA director who was a captain in the military is also obsessed with Iran.
Zionists have been planning this attack on Iran for a long time and Trump is ready to put the plan in motion. This will be the biggest move to date by the empire so there's no time to waste in putting together a counter-plan. Putin has to think beyond Syria now and somehow come up with his own move to put the brakes on this planned invasion before the first missile gets fired. Stopping this catastrophic error is going to take ingenuity and strength of character. My money's on Putin and I'm counting on him to deliver.
Posted by: Circe | Nov 29 2016 7:01 utc | 64
@65
Surely these people - many living in Miami - have a reason to be pissed off.
Oh, you mean they were justified like the landowners in the South were pissed off when Lincoln signed the Declaration of Emancipation???
Posted by: Circe | Nov 29 2016 7:14 utc | 65
"Somos los barbudos", The legacy continues and the revolution will end when the whole world has changed to a society of justice with educated and healthy individuals that care for everybody as the real values of a new era.
Posted by: Yuyo | Nov 29 2016 12:21 utc | 66
Of all the innumerable brilliant things Fidel did over the decades, perhaps my favorite was when then US President Jimmy Carter started mouthing off about all the prisoners in Cuba being “Political Prisoners”, and stated he would welcome them all to the glorious USA if only that horrible criminal Communist slavemaster Castro would free them.
BINGO! The light bulb goes off in Fidel’s head and he says, “Yes! You’re right! They’re all political prisoners!”
And Fidel heads to the nearest prison and says “Great news, Guys! You’re all going to Miami!” And the Cubans emptied out their prisons and drove them to the port of Mariel where they were loaded onto the waiting US ships and set free in Miami to rob, rape, kill, cheat, and carry on whatever criminal activities had originally landed them in prison.
Of course, the US Govt. soon realized they had shot themselves in the foot, and demanded that Cuba not send any more criminals to Miami. But Fidel just grinned from ear to ear and “We have no common criminals. Only political prisoners.” and kept shipping them, and the US was forced to keep accepting them.
It was wonderful. It saved the Cuban economy a fortune by getting rid of thousands of vicious criminals being fed, clothed, and housed at the expense of the Cuban people, and permanently dumped the criminals in the USA, which was much better pickings for them, so they had no desire to return. The Cuban jails were virtually empty for years afterward. I visited Cuba in 1986, a few years later, and just for the heck of it walked into the local jail in the town I was staying in. I asked to see the cells and the desk sergeant said “OK” and took me back there. Empty. I said “There’s nobody here.” and he said “They’re all in Miami.”
Posted by: RayB | Nov 29 2016 12:29 utc | 67
None of this history excuses the establishment of a totalitarian dictatorship. The ineffective sanctions have helped continue the Castro dictatorship instead of been "vicious", as they provided a scapegoat for the dictatorship's problems, the lifting of the embargo can help break down the dictatorship as the country can more interact with the outside world. It's absurd to boast about health care and especially literacy when the totalitarian regime controls people's lives and ability to read what they want.
Posted by: Inkan1969 | Nov 29 2016 13:47 utc | 68
@70
The U.S. supports and has supported totalitarian dictatorships for years, and even installed dictatorships in place of democracy, so your holier-than-thou comment rings very hypocritical. The Anglo/Zionist empire through the CIA and Mossad uses opposition groups and terrorists in other countries to overthrow governments and through the web and subservient media disseminates propaganda to manipulate and poison minds, and incite chaos. If the U.S. wasn't in the busines of empire building through regime change destroying the lives of millions slaughtering with bombs and creating millions of refugees in the process, then maybe you could point a finger at Cuba.
It's absurd to boast about health care and especially literacy when the totalitarian regime controls people's lives and ability to read what they want.
At least they can live to read; unlike so many Americans without proper health care and the millions in foreign countries who died just in the past 15 years alone on behalf of regime change and Zionist U.S. hegemony.
Posted by: Circe | Nov 29 2016 15:35 utc | 69
@71
I didn't say that the US should have and should now support dictatorships. Pinochet and Stroessner deserved the same disdain as Castro.
They can live to read only what the government says they can read.
Posted by: Inkan1969 | Nov 29 2016 18:05 utc | 70
Inkant: It's a blockade, not an embargo. Get your story straight. To say the United Shits wants to continue it because they're deathly afraid citizens of the United Shits will see that Cuba is not a socialist hell-hole is every bit as plausible as the gusano theory of hopelessness and degradation. Another thing: if things were as bad as they say, the United Shits Marine Corps could waltz up a Cuban beach to the rapturous applause of the poor, oppressed Cuban people tomorrow. To continue in this vein, only a stupid person or a liar would compare ghouls like a Pinochet or a Stroessner to El Commandante. Which one are you?
Posted by: ruralito | Nov 30 2016 2:17 utc | 71
@71 circe, good response to inkan1969... thanks.. apparently the dictatorships have to bow down and be subservient to the usa - and then they are GOOD dictatorships!! quoting from the miamiherald isn't going to bring much objectivity to any conversation either for that matter.. the folks in the usa don't need far to look for an example of dictatorship.. in fact the white house functions in much the same way as i see it.
Posted by: james | Nov 30 2016 4:10 utc | 73
thanks ruralito.. another parallel was tried in iraq where the iraqi's were supposed to accept the americans with open arms - all according to bush who was so right about so many things.. NOT, lol.. americans just don't fucking get it.. well, some of them do, but most of them seem brainwashed by the msm..
Posted by: james | Nov 30 2016 4:12 utc | 74
Dear Casto cheerleaders. It's always a dirty job to spoil your childish heroes' dream. Have you read this one?
https://www.amazon.com/Psychological-Warfare-New-World-Order/dp/0932367232
Enough footnotes to make you busy for a whole weekend, if you are interested in truth. And not in a mutual kumbaya strenghtening of your little mythologies.
"The road towards the Truth is full of one's former heroes' corpses". I just created it for you... ;)
Posted by: Rublev | Nov 30 2016 8:22 utc | 75
@73, ruralito, you look absurd calling someone else stupid at the same time as resorting to juvenile insults like "Inkant" and "United Shits" and behaving like a drone for Castro mindlessly spouting cliches like "gusano" and "El Commandante", making up reasons for the United States to maintain the embargo that only reaffirm the simplistic dogma into which you've sealed your mind. Who said anything about sending the Marine Corps to any Cuban beach?
@75, James, once again I never said that that United States should be supporting "good" dictatorships. What you wrote there, I oppose. And on this website there has not been any objectivity about Castro in the first place; a Miami Herald link might bring some balance then.
Posted by: Inkan1969 | Dec 2 2016 1:04 utc | 76
The comments to this entry are closed.
Thanks so much for this historical context b.
Rightwing nutters is putting it mildly; I've seen some pretty stupid and uninformed hate speech aimed squarely at the "evil Castro"; totally devoid of any history on Cuba and the U.S.. Not to mention totally fact free.
Posted by: V. Arnold | Nov 27 2016 11:31 utc | 1