A Great Man Dies

Today Fidel Castro died, he was my hero. The world will miss him.

Silas Mercury wrote: he was my hero

Why?

Silas Mercury wrote: Today Fidel Castro died, he was my hero. The world will miss him.

oh I thought you might be talking about Donald Trump...

Akkarin wrote:

Silas Mercury wrote: he was my hero

Why?

I second this. Unless you revered him for his strategic and political mind, I can't see how the product of his life's works are worth celebration or accolade. He was a liberator yes, but he was also a cruel tyrant who carried his peoples liberation into an iron rule under his own fist.

Castro was a tactical genius who provided free healthcare for all and looked after the elderly, fought off the Capitalist American Empire of Kennedy and Eisenhower (who, by the way, was a brute, not a politician). He was one of the only politicians before Reagan and Thatcher to make friends with Russia. He will be missed. I liked Reagan, by the way, believe it or not. I'll explain in PM if you wish.

I was almost expecting the mention to go to Ron Glass, who played Shepard Book from Firefly/Serenity, who died yesterday at the age of 71... now There's a great man, and I was sad to see him go.

Proteus wrote: I was almost expecting the mention to go to Ron Glass, who played Shepard Book from Firefly/Serenity, who died yesterday at the age of 71... now There's a great man, and I was sad to see him go.

Amen to that...

I have an uncle by marriage who fought in Castro's army, literally as a soldier.
he refuses to talk about it i have to ask my aunt about it get anything about it.
he was shot fighting in the revolution and was completely sideswiped when Castro came out as communist.
he became an activist against Castro and his regime.
he was jailed multiple times and eventually, essentially sent to the U.S.
he still visits family and has strong concerns about the Cuban ppl becoming too lost in what the opening of relations between Cuba and the U.S. may bring.
we barely speak, and we can barely understand each other but i admire him.

i cant judge another being completely but every one has a to answer the call, i'm glad he finally has.

Silas Mercury wrote: Castro was a tactical genius who provided free healthcare for all and looked after the elderly, fought off the Capitalist American Empire of Kennedy and Eisenhower (who, by the way, was a brute, not a politician). He was one of the only politicians before Reagan and Thatcher to make friends with Russia. He will be missed. I liked Reagan, by the way, believe it or not. I'll explain in PM if you wish.

Many great generals have turned out to be lousy statesmen (Napoleon for instance). Fighting off an invader does not necessarily put one in the right. What does making friends with Russia have to do with anything?

Cubans were freed from American and led into a totalitarian regime. Sure there is great healthcare and education, but there is no internet access unless you can pay enormous amounts of money for it. Cuba ranks 171 out of 180 on Press Freedom . According to Amnesty International Government critics, human rights activists and journalists routinely face harassment and arbitrary arrest and short-term detention (8,600 politically motivated detentions of government opponents in a year). The judiciary remain under political control.

Press FreedomHuman Rights watch : "The Cuban government continues to repress dissent and discourage public criticism. It now relies less on long-term prison sentences to punish its critics, but short-term arbitrary arrests of human rights defenders, independent journalists, and others have increased dramatically in recent years. Other repressive tactics employed by the government include beatings, public acts of shaming, and the termination of employment."

Yes, but if Amnesty looked at the USA. They are inhumane gun huggers. They use capital punishment. They elected a racist perverted businessman. Their former Government did 9/11. Cuba is heaven compared to the US.